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Published: August 30th 2012
The drive to Wanaka from Fox was a spectacular one. It took us a bit longer than expected because we stopped at a couple of lookout points to take in the views. There's scenery and then there's New Zealand scenery! We arrived at the campsite which had good facilities and loads of space. It was pretty late so it was dark and we couldn't see much of the lake, so we showered and headed out for dinner to celebrate my birthday. We went to an Indian restaurant called the Spice Room (the lady at reception in the campsite had recommended it). It was really cosy in there with a fire blazing and comfy couches to sit on while you wait for them to prepare your table. The really was really tasty and afterwards we went to the only bar that was still open for a pint of the local brew. After this we headed back towards the campsite & stopped off at a phone box to call Nana as it was her birthday too. It sounded like she had had a good week of celebrations. We then hit the hay as it was a long drive to Te Anau the next
day. We wanted to go to Milford Sound and the nearest town to Milford that you can stay in is Te Anau, which is still a two and a half hour drive away!
The next morning we set off to Te Anau almost straight away as the cloud was so low over the lake you coUuld hardly see anything. We arrived in Te Anau and found our campsite. We had a great directory that listed all the campsites and motorhome parks in New Zealand and their prices. Also, in most of the places, there were campsites called "Space Stations". These were campsites affiliated with Spaceships and we could get discounts and swap DVDs. We parked up Red Dwarf, and where we were parked there was a great view of the lake. Unfortunately, we couldn't see the Alps behind because the cloud was so low. We went for a walk along the river to the lake and then came back and cooked some dinner. It was too cold to sit in the kitchen, so after dinner we sat in Red Dwarf and drank some goon and watched a DVD. We didn't have to get up too early, as we needed
View of the Alps
We stopped off at this lookout on our way to Milford Soundto let the roads thaw out before we started to drive to Milford Sound.
Next morning we set off around 11 to give ourselves enough time to catch a boat trip at 2pm. The drive was an interesting one- it started off with a straight, clear road, but as soon as we got nearer Fjordland the roads got very winding and were high up in the mountains, so there was alot of ice. We took it easy though! At one stage, we drove through a tunnel that took us straight through a mountain, and there were icicles hanging from the roof about 1.5m long and really thick. We prayed one wouldn't fall off and break our windscreen. We arrived at Milford Sound and headed to the boat terminal where we found that the 2pm sailing was booked out. So we booked ourselves on the 3pm sailing instead. In the meantime, we walked along the boardwalk and saw lots of birds, including shellducks and cormorants. We stopped for a coffee in the Blue Duck Cafe, where we bought and wrote a few postcards.
When it was time to get the boat, we got on board and helped ourselves to
complimentary tea and sambos. The boat trip was brilliant, with commentary from the skipper and loads of reference books we could flick through. We saw Mitre Peak (which apparently looks like a bishops hat) as we sailed through the Fjord towards the Tasman Sea. Our skipper informed us that Milford Sound is not actually a sound it's a fjord. Sounds are carved out by rivers, fjords by glaciers. We passed Lady Bowen Falls, one of the two permanent waterfalls in Miford Sound, and the boat took us right up to it- we could feel the spray and see how big it actually is. We saw some New Zealand fur seals lazing about on the rocks. The boat took us out to the Tasman Sea, where it turned back and sailed along the other side of the fjord. The boat stopped at a few temporary waterfalls where we saw lovely rainbows curving out of the water. We passed some bare patches on the mountains where trees had falled off. There isn't much top soil, so when a tree gets too big it loses its grip and falls off the side of the mountain. Once one tree falls, it brings others with
Milford Sound Boat
You can see Mitre Peak on the right it, leaving a bare patch. We passed a birch tree which was perched on the edge of a rock, and the roots went up the mountain to hang on. After the boat trip, we left Milford Sound pretty soon because it was getting dark and cold. On the way back, we stopped at a lookout and took some photos of the snow-covered peaks.
We got back to our campsite and cooked some dinner. After dinner, we were drinking some goon and playing cards in the kitchen, when some other campers came in. They were an extended family, and were all in Te Anau for their father's 80th birthday. He wanted to go to Sweden to see the fjords but wasn't able, so they took him to Milford Sound instead. We chatted to them for a while until they turned in for the night. We had a great day at Milford Sound, and were excited about our next stop on the trip, the extreme sport capital of New Zealand- Queenstown.
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