Milford Sound

Milford Sound is a national Park area near Queenstown. It's really close, just across the bay, but you have to take a 4 hour drive to get there on land. The second day in Queenstown myself, Danish and Newmarket awoke early in the morning to get on the bus for this tour. It was a beautiful early morning. We were on the coach bus with a glass roof so that you can get the best view of the trees and mountains as you go around. We also chose an Eco Tour, in which a large percentage of the money paid goes towards the preservation of the native flora and fauna of New Zealand.

On the way to Milford Sound!

Glass topped bus

bright and early Queenstown morning :)

We made a few stops along the route. First we stopped at Te Anu, a town part way between both points. There we looked through a gift shop, got snacks and walked down to look at the lake and statue of a large extinct bird that once roamed New Zealand. Apparently they thought the birds were extinct but found a nest of them at some point during the 80s. The statue is supporting rugby and has an All Blacks jersey painted on it. Lake Te Anu is the second largest lake in NZ to Lake Taupo. It was not nearly as large, but just as clear and pretty.

Danish and I by Lake Te Anu

We also stopped to walk through this area called Mirror Lakes. The picture explains why beautifully.

looking into the lake

Our final stop was just as we entered the National Park. We were unleashed on this massive field where there was nothing but distance and enormous mountains. It was so beautiful I wanted to run away and never look back. 

Entrance to Milford Sound National Park

Finally our bus dropped us off at the bay which leads out to the Tasman Sea. We boarded a boat and took a 2 hour cruise around. There we saw natural waterfalls, kayaks, seals and the second rarest penguin in the world! Of course, my camera died, but I will be stealing photos from Danish in the next day or two to show proof of our lovely adventure. It was absolutely beautiful.

The dock

One of the larger waterfalls, but there were several around the bay

After our cruise it was back to the bus for 4 hours. As this was our last full day together the boys and I treated ourselves to a nice dinner in town. Our waitress was actually Canadian from around Halifax. Her sister lives in Ottawa. Then it was out to The Buffalo Bar to meet up with the girls who had booked their Milford Sound tour for the next day.  While this excursion didn't involve risking our lives, the scenery was great and it was very relaxing over all.

 I loved the place so much I named my favourite souvenir after it. Meet Milford!

These photos are the result of being horribly tired at 430am in Christchurch airport