April 9, 2011 To Milford Sound and Back

We were up very early to get on the coach to Milford Sound, one of the iconic spots in New Zealand. The bus was great; no driving for Mike. We drove as far as Te Anau, where we had a 30 minute stop. We saw our friends in Tours4Matures driving by. We met up with them down the road at the entrance to Homer tunnel, which is one laned. We were stopped to wait for our green light, which happens every 15 minutes. After the tunnel, we stopped at a parking area where a Kea, a native parrot, was hanging out. It posed for us as we took pictures and then it flew off. Farther down the hillside, we came to a stop to see the Chasm, a place where a river carved through the rock in a spectacular fall.

We arrived at Milford Sound and boarded our boat. It was much smaller than I expected it to be, but we all fit on board with not much room to spare. The weather was fantastic and we set off along the walls of the sound, which is really a fjord. We went out as far as the Tasman Sea and returned. Captain Cook sailed right by here but never ventured into the sound. It was left to later explorers to find it. I thought the Alaskan fjords more interesting.

We planned on flying back instead of taking the coach. Off to the airport and onto a 6 seat Cessna. It was bumpy as we took off but as we rose over the mountains, the flight became smoother. The views were fantastic. It reminded me of flying into Innsbruck through the Alps, only these Alps were south of the equator.

To complete our day, we took the gondola up the mountain over Queenstown. At the top there were the usual adventure sports; luge, bungy jumping and para-sailing down the mountain. You could also take your bike up the gondola and ride down. What a place for exciting things to do.