Milford Sound

---

What can I write that would do justice to the sights we have seen? If a picture is worth a thousand words, I have a lot of work to do to equal all the wonderful shots my better half has taken recently. Our trip to Milford sound, a fjord on the west coast of NZ, was like a dream. We boarded our 700 ton ship, the Milford Mariner and were greeted with hot chocolate and muffins. Upon seeing a pod of about 30 dolphins, including calves, they lowered the tender ships and we got to see them from about ten feet away. Nearby, seals were basking in the sun under the 1000 foot cliffs that surrounded us. The food was excellent and it was just an beautiful way to spend a couple days.

Yesterday we arrived at Mt. Cook - the highest peak in NZ. Edmund Hillary, the first man to summit Everest, did a lot of his training here. They have a museum dedicated to him that is full of interesting information. Even after being knighted, he prefered to be called just "Ed". We did a three hour hike to Hooker Lake that was filled with big ice chunks that had broken off of the nearby glaciers - those pictures will be up soon. Sadly we will be in the air to return to the States in about 24 hours so this may be our last post. If you are reading this, you are somebody I can't wait to talk to about our trip in person, so I look forward to seeing you soon!

---