Milford Sound is an iconic fiord on the West Coast of the South Island. This is a classic postcard motif from the Fiordland National Park. The inlet from the Tasman Sea is framed by very tall, very steep mountain sides - it also rains here for 200 days of the year! During my visit and cruise on the fiord, it didn't rain but the mountain peaks were shrouded in clouds, and the wind was very strong. Certainly the clouds lend a bit of mystique to the landscape, but give me sunshine any day.
It's a long trek from Queenstown to Milford Sound. Apparently it can be done in 3 hours if you don't stop on the way, but the Intercity coach made several stops, both for refreshments and to view the scenery, so the trip took almost 6 hours one way. On the way, we passed the 45th parallell, which means we were exactly halfway between the Equator and the South Pole. Our very knowledgeable driver, Paul, also told us this is the wettest region of New Zealand, and that, interestingly, the driest region of NZ (Cromwell) is on the same parallell, but on the other side of the mountains.
There are lots of companies cruising on the fiord, and they all follow the same circuit so you can choose by price. I went for the cheapest option (of course), which on this occasion was Jucy. No food included, just complimentary tea. Other operators plying the same waters include Southern Discoveries and Real Journeys.
Sir Ridley Scott is currently filming the next Alien movie, Covenant, near the Sound. The coach driver pointed out a location next to the wharf where the film crew had built a space ship and blown it up only yesterday!
After a long day on coach and boat, I am spending two nights in Te Anau (pronounced like Keanu with a T) which is closer to Milford Sound than Queenstown. It's a small town situated on Lake Te Anau, with plenty of restaurants and souvenir shops, two supermarkets, and even a cinema! The tourist highlights around here are cruises on the lake, the glow worm caves, horse riding and hiking (which the Kiwis call "tramping"!). I decided to spend a relaxing day, taking a walk down to the lake front in between the showers, and save my money for my next destination, Dunedin. Uploading and sorting photos and booking accommodation takes a lot of time, but is perfect for rainy, lazy days.
I have booked accommodation in Christchurch and Melbourne on AirBnB. It was exhausting! Not only are there so many accommodation listings to go through, where everyone has their own style of presenting themselves and you really have to pay attention to all the details. Some keep to the very basics, some tell their entire life story. Then, when you get around to booking, the host has 24 hours to respond and you are committed to booking and paying unless they reject you or don't respond (both happened to me). In that case, the whole process starts over again. And when you decide to book a place, you have to upload your photo, a copy of your passport, link your account to a Facebook or LinkedIn profile, and give them your mobile number. I am extremely uncomfortable sharing any personal details online, as web sites get hacked and data gets sold or goes missing all the time. People working for AirBnB now have a copy of my passport, my credit card details, my email and mobile number.
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