NEW ZEALAND - SUNDAY DEC 14 - MILFORD SOUND

Charlie and I had to get up at dawn today.  We were going to be picked up at 6:45 from the hotel.  We were dropped off at the coach station and loaded onto a large glass roofed coach - along with people from all over the place.  Most of our fellow travelers were from Japan, but there was an Australian couple and a couple from India as well.

We drove from Queenstown and headed through farm fields.  Kingston, a tiny town, was built during the 1860 gold rush here.  Queenstown didn't have gold, but they supplied whatever was needed for the gold towns.  Then we went past Fairlight - once a train stop - now a building only.  The train tracks were pulled out 10s of years ago.  At the moment the old railway path is being replaced by a gravel cycling path - they've even replaced the old railroad bridges with wooden bridges for cyclists.  This is a bicycle path I can get into.  Eventually, we stopped at Te Anau, a small town on Lake Te Anau.  This lake is the largest lake in Australia and New Zealand.  The stop marked the end of the farm country - lots of sheep, dairy, steers, and deer farms - and the beginning of the Southern Alps.

The farms were backed up by spectacular mountains too

A few sheep in the distance

Me with lake Te Anau behind me

The scenery up to the boat launch at Milford Sound was increasingly beautiful.  Massively steep mountains capped by snow.  Higher and more impressive mountains appeared every time we turned a corner.  We stopped twice - once at Mirror Lakes - the photos show why they have that name - and once just to take spectacular photos of the surroundings.

Us with the Southern Alps behind us

With us out of the way - much nicer view

Mirror Lake

Another mirror lake view

An Alpine river filled with silt from the mountain side - hence the color

One of the peaks a bit closer

We got on the boat just before 1 pm.  We had a buffet lunch - not too bad considering the huge crowds herded around on the boat.  Once we finished eating, Charlie and I ran upstairs and braved wind and bounces to stand and take photos and gape at the scenery.

Charlie on the boat on Milford Sound

The Milford Sound

Southern fur seals snoozing on a rock

Me on the boat on the Milford Sound

A bit of lake Te Anau on the way back to Queenstown

We drove back the way we came.  The road has a huge dog leg to get to the Milford Sound from Queenstown - roughly a 4 hour drive.  When we stopped at Te Anau again, I bought a map, and had a better idea where we had been.  Once we got back to the hotel - we were a bit fried.  We staggered back into town looking for something comforting for dinner.  Japanese Udon Soup!  Just the ticket.
To the room and to my blog and to bed.