Freezin' in New Zealand

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Anyone who has seen Lord of the Rings knows the awesome, jaw-dropping scenic wonders that abound in New Zealand. I stepped off the plane in Queenstown around 5 o’clock. There was a crisp chill in the air, the smell of snow lingered from the night before. I looked up to see white-capped mountains in the distance. I thought this is only the airport and already the views are stunning!

Doubtful Sound is the less touristy of the Sounds so naturally I decided that would be the first place I would visit. The mountains were absolutely stunning. The snow capped-peaks made it all the more beautiful. I got a good deal on an overnight cruise so I opted for that and spent the night out at sea. I’ve been surviving on pasta and sandwiches the past few weeks so the meal on the cruise was a real treat. There was even dessert! 😊

Milford Sound is the big crowd-pleaser. Two days before my tour of Milford, there was an avalanche and the road was closed. I wasn’t too disappointed though because I had spent 2 days on Doubtful Sound and had pretty good weather. At 9:45 a.m. Friday morning, I hear honking outside my window “The tour bus is waiting for you!” An older man yells at me. I was pretty confused because I had spoken to a lady at the front desk an hour before and she told me the tour was cancelled. Luckily though, I had just finished packing my bags so I hopped in.

The weather was atrocious. Raindrops were banging against the windows, slush covered the road, and signs advising drivers to carry chains were posted everywhere. No one was sure if the road was open or not, so we drove on hoping that by the time we got there, the avalanche would have been cleared. As luck would have it, the roads were open so we drove on through. As we piled onto the ship, the rain picked up and for the first 45 minutes of the cruise everyone was hanging on to the railings trying not to fall over. The boat was bucking around like a wild horse - I’m glad I didn’t have time to pack a lunch because I probably would have lost it! It was pretty rough sailing but the views were spectacular! There were hundreds of waterfalls along the mountains because of the rainfall. When it’s not raining, there are only 4 major waterfalls. We also had a group of dolphins swimming alongside the boat for a few minutes. They were just adorable!

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Photos

Milford Sound
This picture is not in black and white - it was so stormy that everything was coated in shades of gray.

Comments

[Coluna D'Águias Gloriosas]

So beautifull
it´s very nice this blog and the pictures are astonishing congratulations from Lisbon, Portugal in Europe Coluna http://www.colunadaguiasgloriosas.blogspot.com/

[Ulogilv]

Cape Foulwind??? dare I ask how it got its name???