Milford Sound to Queenstown

Dear all

We woke early this morning having already booked the first boat trip out onto the sound to try and avoid the masses. Another great tip from Andy had been to use the company Mitre Peaks as their boats are much smaller and this seemed to put many people off so as a consequence we only had around 20 people on our boat  Trust me that's small in this place where some boats carry 300 people! The weather was bright, but overcast and as we slipped out of the small quay into the sound and faced the spectacular Mitre Peak (1692m) in the distance we knew we had made the right choice. 

The water was calm as there had been virtually no boats on the water so I was able to spot a bottlenose Dolphin at the back of the boat (my normal seasick hangout) almost immediately - which everyone else managed to miss as they were all getting drinks in or standing at the front - ha ha. The whole place just blows your mind it is so vast and captivating and although we travelled down the 16km to the point where the sound meets the sea and the view didn't change that much I was enthralled the entire journey. The small boat also allowed us a very unique chance to get up very close the the cascading waterfalls (too close if you were up the front - LOL) and the local seals all sunbathing on the rocks. As we headed back to the wharf area the mists started to roll in and by the time we were back at our van the skies were starting to look a little ominous (although not surprising for an area with an annual rainfall of 6m a year!). We swiftly  headed out feeling a little sorry for those people arriving who would not be able to see half what we had. 

As we had rushed the last part of the journey in we stopped at the lovely chasm walk, where the forested Cleddau River plunges through these stunningly eroded boulders and down a very narrow chasm creating a rock bridge in the process. Back in the van the rain had now started to gently fall so Dean decided to stay in the van at our next stop a walk to the allegedly very beautiful Marion Lake. I say allegedly, because I had to turn back after 30 minutes of walking in the rain as the track has been closed, but someone had neglected to put a sign up at the start!  oh well it was still a lovely walk! We made a little detour to the Gunn Camp (toilet), which is obviously run by someone with a very good sense of humour as the whole place has little signs and jokes around as you can see.

The rain was now falling in earnest so we hasten out of the valley, back up towards & through the tunnel, but on the other side the rain had stopped! By the time we reached the downs we could see blue sky ahead & back at Te Anau the sun was shining. Dean was in a black mood though cos he missed the chance to sample the wares from Miles Better Pies! We had a little wonder around and then dashed onto our next destination - Queenstown..........

Nite all

Sara