Fjiordland, Milford Sound, Wanaka and Queenstown

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Fjiordland and Milford Sound; Drove out to Te Anau, which is a really nice small lake side town. Then I decided to head further into Fjiordland and up to Milford Sound for a cruise. This was probably one of the hardest drives I've ever done, because its such amazing scenery its really hard to keep you eyes on the road. Eventually got to Milford Sound, which was a bit foggy unfortunately, then chilled out while I waited for my cruise. Went on the cruise which was amazing! Probably the most amazing landscape I've ever seen despite the sideways rain. The sides of the fjord are completely vertical, including Mitre peak, the highest sea cliff in the world. On the way out to the edge of the sea the weather was pretty horrible but luckily it cleared a bit on the way in so we could see the whole of the massive fjord. Due to the rain there were loads of waterfalls running down the cliffs, we also saw a load of seals asleep on a rock which was quite cool.
On the way back home I stopped off at a campsite and rented a little cabin for the night which was really nice. Then i went for a walk the next day out to a big waterfall at the beginning of the Hollyford track which was absolutely beautiful!

Wanaka and Mt Aspiring Nt Park; After discovering all the accomodation was booked up in Queenstown was fully booked I headed over to Wanaka. Had great fun driving my firstt real mountain road, which is actually the highest road in NZ. After sleeping in the car halfway between the two towns I arrived to Wanaka fairly early in the morning and was greeted by more spectacular scenery and fresh snow on the mountains (which was very early in March, they normally don't get snow till June). The mountains reflected completely in the lake and you can hardly tell which is the reflection and which is the actual in my picture. Just chilled out in my new favourite town in the world for the day. The next day I headed up to Mt Aspiring Nt Park. Picked up a couple of hitchikers on the way and went walking with them for most of the day. Probably the best scenery of my trip so far here. I walked out to a hut in the mountains, called Liverpool hut. The hut was right up by itself in the mountains, no one around for miles and mile and I had the hut to myself, which was strange but absolutely amazing!

Queenstown!; Headed up to Queenstown as for a saturday night. It was a bit quiet out on the town because its between the summer season and the snow season, but I met some people in the hostel and headed out, for a really fun night out. The next day I went for a walk round the town, down to the lake front, more amazing scenery with the Remarkables mountain range. As Queenstown is supposedly the home of extreme sports I decided I have a go on the shotover jet boat. It was absolutely amazing! The drivers are so skilled, its really fast and they get as close as a foot to the side of the huge rocks in the canyon. They also drive in stupidly shallow water because they only need 4ft of water to move.
The next day I headed up the Skyline Gondola. What and amazing view, especially as there had been a dusting of snow on the remarkables during the night. When I was at the top I had a go on the luge, which is basically a tea tray with wheels which your fly down a concrete track down. It was amazing fun, i just wish I could have afforded to have another go! After this I decided to take myself home before I spent any more money in NZ's most expensive town. I really liked Queenstown but found it a bit touristy and proud so Wanaka is still my favourite 😊

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