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Published: March 29th 2011
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We are up at 05:30; we make a cup of tea/coffee before going to wait for the bus, which will pick us up at 06:30. It feels really cold today; I do not wear shorts for the first time in two months, but go for the long trousers. We also have on sweaters and take our waterproofs with us. Di does not really warm up until around lunchtime
The bus turns up on time and makes some more pick-ups in Queenstown. We then set off, as it is dark and not much to see, we catch up on a bit of sleep. We drive for two hours to get to Te Anau, where we stop for 30 mins for breakfast and pick up another couple of passengers.
It will be another two hours to reach Milford sounds, during this time the driver gives us some details on the countryside that we are passing through and we make several photo-stops.
We pass through temperate rain forests made up of Beech Trees, Tea Trees and various varieties of ferns.
He tells us about the wildlife. It appears that the birdlife initially had a good time of it, as there were no natural
predictors. The Maori then arrived from Polynesia and brought with them the Polynesian rat. The Europeans then arrived and brought with them rats and mice on their boats, they also introduced rabbits as a source of food. Pretty soon they are overrun with rabbits, so the stoat was introduced to tackle the rabbit problem. Possums were also introduced and pretty soon the birdlife had a lot more to worry about!
We had three major photo stops:
• Eglinton Valley – A wide valley with great views of the mountains
• Mirror Lakes – A chance to take pictures of the Earl mountains with a reflection in the lake
• Lake Gunn – As above but even better!
We pass over the 45-latitude line, which is halfway between the equator and Antarctica – which might explain why it’s getting colder!
The road out from Te Anau to Milford Sound took about 20 years to build by hand with no mechanical assistance. Milford Sound is surrounded by mountains, so a tunnel had to be punched through, which took 20 years to complete. The mountains approaching the tunnel are extremely steep and susceptible to landslides/avalanches especially in winter. We stopped
briefly once through the tunnel. In the lay-by was a Kia, the NZ parrot. The bird was really friendly, and rather than fly away when you went to take its photograph it walked towards you. The bird was last seen on the bonnet of a guys car - eating the rubber door seal!!
We eventually arrive at Milford Sound at around 12:10. Our cruise begins at 12:20 and takes 2 hours. We sail down one side and back up the other side. The scenery is breathtaking and well worth the long journey, with huge mountains, waterfalls and blue water.
The return journey is the reverse of the journey out. We stop at Te Anau for twenty minutes. On the leg from Te Anau to Queenstown the driver put on a movie about a NZ man called Burt Munro from Invercargill who went to the USA and set up a motorcycle speed record. It starred Anthony Hopkins and was called Fastest Indian in the World – quite a good movie.
The bus stop in the centre of Queenstown at about 19:00, so Di and me got off there. Straight to the pub (Pig & Whistle) as we were
parched, and a pint of Monteiths crushed apple cider really hit the spot! We then start to think about dinner, it turns out it is burger and a pint night for NZ$16 – so we had that. There were all sorts of “burgers”, Di had lamb and I had prawn and fish of the day – really good. We have another drink whilst watching the netball on Sky. Netball is really big in Oz/NZ, and is very professional.
That was it a very long day – but very enjoyable and memorable!
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