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Today we checked a "must-do" item off our tourist list and made the trek to Milford Sound. We boarded a bus at 7 AM and 6 hours later arrived at the sound for a 2 hour boat ride to the ocean and back, then rode the bus straight through, arriving back in Queenstown at 7:30 PM, having traveled 600 km, according to our bus driver. Never thought it would be so exhausting to just sit and ride for a whole day. But the specular scenery (made even more dramatic by recent snow) on the drive was worth the "ordeal". So much of it was difficult to photograph through the bus window, but will reside forever in my mind's eye... We started off in the dark driving around the south arm of Lake Waikatipu, and gradually the dawn revealed spectacular views of the snow covered mountains surrounding the water. Eventually this gave way to flatter farm and pastureland, with herds of sheep, cows and deer (which are raised for meat here) dotting the snow blanketed fields. This morphed into scenery I can only describe as Ansel Adams meets a mini version of the Swiss Alps, all jagged peaks and black and white
high contrast views. By the time we reached Milford Sound, we had absorbed so much beauty, we were kind of underwhelmed by our cruise out on the sound...but we saw a few dolphins at the beginning and enjoyed some pretty waterfalls, while braving freezing temps and blustery winds out on the boat's bow. That pretty much sums up my good and bad things. Dave's Bad Thing was obnoxious and overbearing bus companions; Good Thing was enjoying savory pies from FergBaker (next door to the famous FergBurger) for dinner in front of the fireplace back in our room!
(24 photos)
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