Our trip back followed the same route as the way there. Back 90 km of gravel road with a couple of different stops along the way. The group was in a good mood as was our tour guide. Lots of joking around and everyone was pleasant. It was a good group to be with.
We found out we had been fortunate to have the same tour guide all 3 days. He told us it was only the second time this season he had been assigned the same group for all three days. It appears the company prioritized their guide’s schedule for days off and with the different length trips they do, they often don’t always manage to have the same guide the whole time.
Our last view of Lake Te AnauOur group with our tour guide AndresWe had some spectacular cloud formations on the way back. More interesting than a clear blue sky!
We had a couple of bridges and two water crossings.
All too soon we said goodbye to our guide and we’re back at Walter’s Peak Sheep Farm.
Our boat arrived and we had an uneventful ride back to Queenstown where we picked up our car from the parking garage and headed to find a few groceries and then our next Airbnb.
And what a find! The view itself was worth it.
From our balcony outside our bedroom. Two bedrooms up and two downShared kitchen with other visitors
Tomorrow we’ll head out for some exploring nearby.
The weather report for Friday was mixed – some rain in the afternoon was possible. We were picked up by our driver at 7:30 to make the 2+ hour drive thru Fiordland National Park to Milford Sound and our boat cruise there.
The morning had a great start – crisp but some blue sky and sun. We had a different view over Lake Te Anau from the evening before.
Still some low-lying clouds.
We had to stop for a flock of sheep at the side of the road that was being moved to another location. It gave us a real view of the herding we had seen a sample of the day before.
Our first main stop was in the Eglinton Valley. The Valley was used as the ‘Misty Mountains’ in the ‘Fellowship of the Ring’.
Our next stop was Mirror Lakes where we had some good reflections despite not having ideal conditions.
We had some very low clouds making for some dramatic photos as we travelled along.
At one of our stops we were lucky enough to see a Kea bird. A type of parrot native to South Island New Zealand, it has a beautiful display of orange under its wings when it flies.
The Kea bird is a protected bird in New Zealand. They are known to go after the rubber strips on cars, causing damage. They will also pick up things left lying around.
Finally we arrived at Milford Sound and our boat, the Milford Haven.
We had clouds and a bit of mist but not rain.
The water in Milford Sound is a very dark green in the top layers, due to the native bush and extreme rainfall. They average about 680 cm of rain a year, with 182 days in the year being wet.
Milford Sound is actually a fjord which is carved by glaciers.
We saw two major waterfalls in Milford Sound The first one is Stirling Falls and the second is Lady Bowen Falls.
Three times the height of Niagara Falls.
We arrived back at the dock and met or driver to return us to Te Anau.
The song of the Tui bird was beautiful.
We made it back to our hotel in Te Anau without rain.
After we ate a great meal of lamb shoulder, Paul went for a long walk through town. He did an 8 km walk and got back to the hotel about 30 minutes before it dumped rain.
By morning the rain was done and we were on our way back to Queenstown.
Following Joyce & Paul's Travels in Retirement 