Amazing Milford Sound

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After a thunder storm in the night at Queenstown, the skies cleared and the next morning we finally got a 'yes' to fly to Milford Sound! We wanted to fly down there as it would save us 2 days of travelling and avoid having to put snow chains on the van! The road we would have to have taken was closed the day before due to avalanches! It is apparently the stretch of public road most prone to avalanche falls in the world! So at 10am on Sunday we were taking off in the smallest plane (Cessna) Ginnie had ever seen or been in! It only took 6 passengers and the pilot. The width of the plane was probably 4ft and we crossed over the mountains towards the west. The flight took 40 mins and Dave was sitting next to the pilot and I was at the back on my own, getting a little scared!! We flew very very close to the mountain tops covered in snow, glaciers and frozen lakes; up to 7,500 ft sometimes only seeming to clear the peaks by a few feet, although we're sure it must have been more! We were so close that you could see where avalanches had carried snow down the slopes.

After landing in Milford safe and sound we boarded a cruiser that took us the whole way up the Sound which ends at the sea and back. As it rained the night before there where lots of waterfalls to see and on the way back we saw bottlenose dolphins and a couple of seals lazing on the rocks.

Off the water after a couple of hours then back onto the plane for the return journey. This time Dave sat next to me so I could squeeze his hand when we went up and down. It was a little bouncier on the way back but we landed safely. It was an 'awesome' experience (as they say here) and one that we are both really glad that we were able to do. It seems that due to the weather they had only been able to fly 7 days during September and the weather was getting worse again this week so we were very lucky.

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Photos

Our Plane!
Cessna 207 to take us up over the Mountains!

Mountain Views from the Plane II
Under the Wing!

So close you can touch it!
A frozen lake in a valley!

The Sound
As it comes into View...

Coming in to land at Milford Sound
Good view, but more comfortable in the back of a 747 with a beer and a movie!