Getting out of bed today was a struggle. Bret was suffering from a migraine at the end of yesterday and Jody had unexplained food poisoning symptoms throughout the night, and I, well, was just plain exhausted after yesterday's crazy events. Today's itinerary had us meeting a bus to take us to Milford Sound, at 7:45 am. This was a separate part of the KiwiExperience tour, that we decided not to cancel, but true to form, there was a giant miscommunication. They told us the wrong place to meet, and they didn't pick us up. We ran through the center of Queenstown as I see the bus rolling down the street. I am literally standing in the road flagging it down. Aaarrgh, the frustrations. We got on, and settled in for the very long ride.
Milford Sound, in the lower south island, is one of the world's protected natural reserves, and the only in NZ. Much of it is left over from a glacier that has melted, and driving through the fiordland was straight out of Lord of the Rings. The protected land is highly prone to rock slips and avalanches in the winter, sometimes cutting off its only roads for weeks at a time. The driver of our bus even shared that this particular area is 20 years overdue for a landscape altering earthquake. Therefore, I was anxious to get in and out of Milford Sound as quickly as possible. We were so fortunate to even have the opportunity to do Milford. On the previous KiwiExperience itinerary, there was no room for the trip, and Bret and I really struggled at the thought of missing out on it and probably never getting down that far south again while we were here. So many people had told us it was a 'can't miss' experience, and one bus driver described it as going in with an open mind and coming out with an open jaw. So we were glad to fit it in.
The valley is where the glacier used to be...wow!
New Zealand's famous Mirror Lakes
Love the water color!
Bret refilling his water bottle right out a NZ glacier-fed spring...wouldn't mind doing that everyday!
Oh, just doing a bit of yoga while we wait for the green light for the tunnel, that goes down into Middle Earth!
I can't believe how expansive the terrain is. Bret is in front of the rock in the foreground in the middle-left...amazing.
Bret's view of the bus from where he was.
Descending into Milford...the road where lots of car commercials are filmed...very winding!
After the several photo stops, we finally arrived in Milford Sound, where we boarded a cruise into the sound and out towards the Tasman Sea. Milford only experiences 40 days of sunshine a year, and today was not one of those days. The water was incredibly rough at times, forcing us to stay within the sound. We had a hot lunch, and caught some great views of the landscape. Normally, there are only a few major waterfalls to be seen, but when raining it's known as the land of a thousand waterfalls. We enjoyed the scenery, the underwater world exhibit that we stopped (with 150 year old black coral, that's actually white) and then back on the bus to Queenstown to arrive after 7 pm. It was a very very long day!
cruise views
underwater observatory
Bret treated the ladies to a delicious last meal on our trip at Speight's Ale House. We had exceptional service from Ross, a Scottish waiter, who even took us out for drinks afterwards. I had yummy manuka honey (famous in NZ) glazed glacier-fed salmon, Bret had lamb, and Jody couldn't resist the filet mignon. A relaxing end to our energetic trip!
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