M-whY

At 5:30am, Don woke up and stored his pack in the trunk of the car. His shuttle would be arriving at 6:00am to pick him up.

"Here's the car key," he said to me as got ready to leave.

"Just leave them over there next to the bananas," I mumbled. My shuttle wouldn't be arriving until 6:50am. I could sleep in little more.

I heard him drop the keys and leave.

A few minutes later, my alarm went off. Time to get up. Back at home, it would take a marching band playing as loud as they could to get me out of bed so early. On most days, there just wasn't very much to look forward to. On the road, it's different. You never know what experiences are waiting for you around the corner.

I went to the bathroom to wash up and then started to pack my belongings. It didn't take very long. With 20 minutes to go, I was ready to put my things in the car.

I looked around for the car key. It wasn't next to the bananas. I checked my pants. Maybe I had already pocketed the key. Nope.

Where was the car key?!

I checked the trash can. Maybe I had knocked it in there by accident? Was it in the bathroom? Nope. Shit. Five minutes left til the shuttle would be coming to pick me up.

Do I skip my trip and stay behind to look for the car key? Or do I go and take care of it when I got back later at 5:00pm? I gave the room one last search. It still didn't turn up. Well if the key wasn't in the room nor in my pockets, maybe I packed it into my bags by accident. I'd look for it on the shuttle.

The shuttle arrived and there were only three other people in it, including a couple from Antartica in it. Yes, people actually live in Antartica. I just met two of them. On the bus, I completely emptied my bag, looking for the car key. It still didn't turn up. I could only think of one thing left to do. Call AA when I reached Milford Sound (New Zealand's version of AAA) and have them come and cut me a new key.

The road to Milford Sound was not as bad as people had described. We'd driven roads just as bad on our way down the west coast. I was a bit disappointed. I could've saved myself $30 NZ. We passed several lookout points, but as the sun hadn't made it's way over the mountains yet, a thick fog prevented us from getting any good looks.

"Don't worry, we'll stop by on our way back," said Jason, our shuttle driver. "The mist will have burned off by then."

We arrived at Milford Sound and they quickly outfitted the three of us with kayaking gear. "There was a mixup this morning picking up some people," explained Jason. "You guys will probably need to just hang out for a few minutes."

Perfect. It gave me some time to call AA. I explained the situation to Jason and asked to borrow a phone.

"Ah, yep yep. Follow me."

Our rental car agreement included membership with AA for emergencies like this, so I called and I asked them to send someone out to cut a new key.

"Make and model of the car? Registration too."

"Nissan Sunny, 1995. Registration BKK479."

"And where are you located?"

This is where it got tricky. I was in Milford Sound. The car was in Te Anau. She explained that they couldn't send someone out unless someone was at the vehicle. Why not wait til I got back to Milford Sound? I was worried that someone might have found the keys and made off with the car. The sooner a key could be cut and the car moved to a safer location, the better. Could I ask the hostel to act on my behalf, and be at the vehicle when someone arrives? Sure. But there was another problem. Te Anau was in the middle of nowhere. There were no locksmiths in town. Someone would have to be sent from Queenstown, a good two hours away. AA would cover part of the cost, but I'd have to pay for the other part.

The other kayakers had arrived and the trip was about to start. Matt, one of the operators, told me to go ahead and join the group. He'd stay on the line with AA for me, and keep me updated while I was on the water via radio.

We were split into two groups, Jason led one, a guy named Cheese led the other. Being the last one to arrive at the dock, I would be sharing a kayak with Cheese. He briefly went over some safety information, like what to do if the kayak tips over, how to stay out of the way of cruise ships, and we headed out into the water.

Milford Sound was actually a fjord instead of a sound, the difference being the fjords are carved out by glaciers long ago. In fact, all the 'sounds' in the area were misnamed; To make it up, the whole region was dubbed Fjordland.

The first point of interest was a waterfall half an hour out. Sitting in a kayak at water level, it was difficult to get an accurate perspective of size of things.

"That waterfall over there is important to the 400 or so residents of Milford Sound," Cheese told us. "It's the only source of freshwater here. The waterfall itself is fairly tall, over three times the height of Niagara."

Matt's voice came over the radio. "Matt to Cheese. Tell Mark that AA can send someone out now, remove the barrel from the car, bring it back to Queenstown to cut a new key, and courier it back. It should take about two days. We just need the okay from Mark to set everything in motion."

Two days?! We had to be in Christchurch in three. Plus, the costs looked like they would be brutal. There had to be a better solution.

Cheese suggested calling the rental car company and having them just courier a new key over. It would be quicker, and a lot less expensive.

"Way ahead of you Cheese. We've already called the rental car company. They don't carry spare keys." What kind of rental car company doesn't carry spare keys?!

The situation looked hopeless. "Tell them to go ahead and send someone out," I sighed. The sooner they started, the faster everything would be resolved.

The guided tour continued. "The rain forests here on these mountains are the fastest regenerating in the world. The first trees grow on what little top soil is on the mountains. Other trees grow on top of the roots, creating a dangerous chain of roots. When it rains heavily, the larger trees gather so much water they become unable to support their own weight." He indicated several bald spots in the mountain. "They fall off the face of the mountain in a tree avalanche, bringing down everything connected to it." Fascinating.

We continued paddling down the fjord. "Stay close to the edge," suggested Cheese. "If we were to find any fur seals today, that's where they'd be." Cheese was full of interesting information and commentaries, pointing out unique features and giving us a history of tourism at Milford Sound. The morning mist was beginning to clear, making the view even more spectacular.

Cheese's radio came alive again. "Matt to Cheese. Let Mark know that they found the key in the parking lot. It'll be held at the front desk until he returns."

How the key managed to make it's way into the parking lot is still a mystery to me. But I didn't care. I was just glad to know it was found.

We rafted together for lunch and started heading back. On the way, someone called out, "Hey look! A seal!" We drifted in for a closer look. Cheese tried to coax it out to play, but the seal would have none of it. It continued to just roll in the water, minding it's own business.

We had been out on the water for over four hours. My arms were dead tired from paddling. I was relieved to be back on land and using my legs to move around. Jason's group came back shortly after, and we were soon on our way back to Te Anau.

As promised, Jason stopped at all the lookout points. The Fjordlands were incredible, as advertised. Wide open fields, snow capped peaks, formidable mountain walls, remains of a glacier, clear blue streams. Jason knew his stuff. He led us along an unmarked path through the trees to a crystal clear pool, unknown to the average tourist. Like the morning mist, any regrets I had about paying the $30 NZ evaporated.

At one of the stops, we found a rope swing. The water was cold, but of course, I had to...

"Did you get the picture?" I asked the girl as I climbed out of the water.

"I don't know, maybe."

I checked my camera. Damn. People could say that was someone else, not me. So, I went again.

"How bout this time?" Ahh, much better.

The couple from Antartica showed me a the picture they took of me. Classic. I gave them my email address and they promised to send it to me when they got back to Christchurch. "I've been a photographer long enough to know that you HAVE to get this picture," she smiled.

With all the stops we made along the way, we didn't arrive back to Te Anau until 6:00pm. "I hope you had fun today?" asked Jason as he dropped me off at the hostel.

Despite the whole key fiasco, "Best trip I've ever had!" And I meant it!

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!