Day 9: Day Trip to Milford Sound via Te Anau

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M has been babbling for days, that all of the parade of blue skies and other amazing things that happened during this trip is because of MY luck. I pushed him back. Why ME? Why not assume that it’s HIS luck instead? He still insisted it’s me. For some reason in his mind, I got so many good “coincidences” in my life. I disagree. I prefer to say that I’m persistent in my trial and blessed in life. Not lucky.

To settle the argument, I told him – let’s use Milford Sound as the referee. With 182 days of rain every year, Milford Sound is one of the wettest places in New Zealand (I quoted that statistic from Wikipedia and Milford Sound’s official website: http://milford-sound.co.nz/). Fine. If we can get bright blue sky in Milford Sound – I won’t argue anymore if being accused as “lucky”. The bet is on. OMG, we’re soooo mature! *sarcastic* Ha ha ha…

On map, Milford Sound doesn’t look that far from Queenstown. But in reality, it’s about 300 km drive from Queenstown. Many forums advised just to take coach instead of driving ourselves; because the road is curvy and it’s quite far for a return journey in a day (about 13 hours or so). M initially insisted to drive, because we have our rented car at that day anyway and cannot return it (it’s complicated to explain, basically the car is stuck with us lah). But I kept persuading. So many people in the forum saying the same thing, it must have some degree of truth in it. Then 50%!d(MISSING)iscount vouchers over bookme (http://bookme.co.nz/bookings/queenstown/home) put the final nail in the coffin. We only need to pay 79.5 NZD each instead of 159 NZD. We’re taking coach, baby!

The coach bus picked us up a bit late (like less than 10 mins), then it started to pick up more and more passengers. The bus ended up to be about 85%!f(MISSING)illed. M and I were babbling in Indo-Lish (English mixed with Indonesian) and someone greet us in Indonesian. When I turn around, hey – she’s blonde Caucasian! This solo female traveler from Canada apparently speaks fluent Indonesian because she’s been living there for 4 years or so. What a coincidence! She said she doesn’t want to leave, which is an irony because both M and I don’t want to move back to Indo ha ha ha…

The bus then started to slowly crawl along the edge of Lake Wakatipu – and heading to Te Anau. It’s a beautiful blue sky day. M reminds me of the bet. I told him, don’t get his hope high. The day is still long. Anything can happen.

Reality hits though. It’s really different when you’re doing tour like this, vs driving yourself. There are few spots where I spontaneously said to M – eh! Let’s stop here! Stop here! Take picture! And he would grin. Because we’re on a bus. We cannot stop as we pleased, as usual. I started to pout a bit.

The journey to Te Anau was nice. We saw lots of rolling hills. Many deers and rolling hayes. I also saw couple of rabbits – although not the whole field like yesterday (http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Queenstown/blog-679064.html). After couple of hours, we finally reached Te Anau - which is a small town by the lake. Some travelers chose to spend the night here so they can get to Milford Sound first thing in the morning.

Ian, the driver/tour guide – recommend us to try the pie at “Miles Better”. I’m particularly intrigued by the Venison Pie; as NZ is famous for pies and I’ve never tried venison before. Unfortunately due to my dietary restriction, I opted for the vegetarian pie instead. M was inspired to taste the venison pie and according to him it tasted like mutton. Instead of shopping for souvenirs, we enjoyed our pies by the lake instead. Aaahhh, this is life! If I have to be honest, I think Lake Wakatipu is prettier though.

I was looking forward for the drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound. I read that it’s more gorgeous that the first leg of the journey. And it was! More scenic stops! Cascade Creek with it’s lupin field, Lake Gunn, etc. But one of my favorite was the Mirror Lake (different vs the one in Lake Matheson). Ian said that it’s even prettier in winter because the snowcaps are more massive and it makes the reflection clearer. OMG, blue sky, swipey clouds, wild lupin flowers…. Gorgeous.

As I was walking back to the bus, the wind started to blow. I closed my eyes for a split second to feel the breeze and just take it in. And when I opened my eyes – I’m showered by falling leaves, swirling around me as the wind gently dance with them. I was awed. I reached out and catch one leaf in my hand. And just like that my happiness hit 12 out of 10 scales.

Perhaps some of you would think – meh, it’s just falling leaves. So what? Well, I can’t explain it either. It’s just that perfect moment that somehow connects with your inner self. Or perhaps it’s just the culmination point of all the amazing things that I saw and experienced. I’m just happy. And you can’t buy it. You can’t make it up as well.

As the bus crawled among the forest, the wind still blows and I can see the leaves flying around. What season is this, seriously? Isn’t this supposed to be summer? I saw a red maple tree in Arrowtown yesterday, and today the leaves are falling near Milford Sound? Hmmm, South Korea for next autumn trip would be nice I think.

Right before entering the Homer tunnel, the bus stopped for another scenic stop. The driver invited us to drink the river water. I hesitate a bit because there are so many tourists. I did it anyway. Not advisable by the Department of Conservation, but I was fine. And then for the first time, the driver snap at several tourists who didn’t hop on to the bus on time. They have to run and catch the bus as we already starts to queue for Homer tunnel. Initially I didn’t understand, but apparently there’s like a red light or something; where you need to take turns to pass the tunnel as it’s one way stream only. If we missed that one, we need to wait for another 15 mins and might missed our cruise at 3.15 pm.

After Homer tunnel, the view is just getting better. You can see the Fiords already with all it’s glory. I can’t believe I’m in New Zealand… I struggle to take picture from inside the bus. But sometime there are experiences that are there just to enjoy and not to capture with camera.

When we finally arrived in Milford Sound, M was grinning and I was pouting. I lost my bet. It was a perfect blue sky. A bit cloud here and there, but it just added the depth. M was teasing how lucky am I and how I should be grateful. I sourly smile. Ok fine. I’m a lucky person. There. I said it.

I read in forums and travel guides, don’t be discouraged if Milford Sound is raining. As it will just make the waterfalls more dramatic. Personally, I think they’re just trying to make the readers feel better if it rains ha ha ha… Of course it’s nicer if the sky is blue! You can sit outside on the deck and enjoy the sun. A bit splash here and there from the waves (watch out your camera, the water splash can get really severe especially the front side of the boat). Well, if you only have 1 day to visit Milford Sound, it doesn’t matter what is the weather. Still well worth the visit. At distance I can see dots of small planes flying around. Yes, you can also arrive or depart from Milford Sound with a scenic flight.

I’ve endured too many touristy cruises in my life that made me a bit allergic to take such excursion. But this one, is REALLY worth it. Value for money. And that’s one of the moments in the journey where I missed my husband a lot. To make it worse, there’s this couple in the corner which kept hugging and kissing each other’s neck. Ayya… Where’s my husband when I need him??? M was pouting a bit as well. I think he missed his other half, too. Yah, well, this cruise is just too romantic to be spent alone.

Milford Sound gorgeousness is unexplainable. Either by words or by pictures. If you think the pictures are pretty – the real thing is even more awesome. I tried to walk to the front part of the boat but the water splashes are just too crazy for my SLR camera to handle. I then found my spot in the back corner of the boat. I just sit there and enjoy the sun, the splashes and the views.

There are few spots where the seals was sun tanning. I was thinking to myself. Hey, I thought this Milford Sound is fresh water right? Not salt water? Then how do the seals survive? Feel free to leave comment though if anyone knows ha ha… And HOW DO THEY GET HERE?? Dunno. Don’t’ tell me they took coach as well ha ha ha…. Perhaps the seals were here since before the Fiord were separated from the sea? That’s a very long time to evolve! According to the brochure, there’s supposed to be penguins as well (?) Didn’t see any though. I did see a couple in Akaroa.

There are several waterfalls that we saw from afar. Then the boat gets nearer to one of the waterfall. And the front of the boat was showered under the waterfalls! I’ve read about it before so it’s not so much of a surprise. But it is sooo much fun! I immediately tucked my camera in so it won’t get wet. But that means I can’t take pictures either. Had I don’t have my camera with me; I would probably be at the front of the boat – enjoying the gush of water and screaming in fun! We saw mini rainbow on the edge of the waterfall but unfortunately I didn’t have the right lens to capture it.

The 90 mins cruise was so magical that I even forgot taking my lunch package from the boat galley. Back at the bus, everybody was somehow tired and half of us were asleep. I think the driver was struggling to stay alert as well as he started to popped in a Simon and Garfunkel CD. M and I looked at each other and we were like… Errr… Who’s Simon and Garfunkel?? *generation gap* Well, I guess we’ll find out when we hear the CD.

It was a great day out indeed. If I had to do it again, I would do it differently. I would’ve let M drove because the weather was great and he’s a confident driver. I’m a bit disappointed at myself though, felt like I took the wrong decision. But… well, that’s life. Nevertheless, I had fun! Milford Sound: very recommended!!! Must do!!!

Tips:


• Do check http://bookme.co.nz/bookings/queenstown/homefor discounted Milford Sound packages. There are cruise only option, coach + cruise, or even fly + coach + cruise (or the other way around).
• If the weather is good and you have confident driver(s) with you – better drive. The bus journey is actually also much slower vs driving. I’d rather spent those extra time for stopovers at scenic spots. However, if it’s in the winter, I would recommend taking the coach. The roads are actually manageable but pass Homer tunnel it’s very wiggly.
• Don’t sit in front of the boat if you don’t want to get wet. On the other hand, do move to the front of the boat if you’re keen to have wet T-shirt ha ha…. Just remember to secure your valuables. It won’t be funny if your beloved iPhone is soaked in water
• It’s very windy at the deck! Watch out for your belongings. Someone’s hat new NZ hat actually flew and we got couple of ladies hanging on to their skirts for dear life ha ha….
• If you can, don’t come to Milford Sound alone. Bring your spouse! Or someone who is willing to hug you, because you’ll need it! Ha ha…



To view more of my travel pictures – pls go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/ariyanti_p/sets/72157628705874019/

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