Today we awoke really early 5:30 to be exact. One benefit was seeing the sun rise over the mountains. We caught some good shots of the sunrise over the mountains as our breakfast in bed arrived. A simple breakfast, fruit, toast, croissants and OJ. It worked well though as we were not sure where we could get breakfast so early and still be able to catch our early bus pick up at 7:05 am.
We got on the bus a few minutes early and began our trip to Milford Sound. The bus driver was very knowledgable about the region and gave us an almost nonstop commentary on our 4 hour trip from Queenstown to Milford Sound. He told us all about the farmland along the way and also about all of the mountains and lakes as we passed by.
There were some interesting stories about the beginnings of deer farming in the region. Deer were introduced to the country for game hunting purposes, but without any natural predators, they soon grew to become an invasive species and were causing havoc on the mountainsides eating up all of the vegetation and thereby causing erosion of the land due to mudslides etc. They were deemed a pest by the government and hunters were sent into the mountains to kill the deer. At some point they realized that venison was tasty to some and started to bring the deer carcasses back. Since they were in the mountains, and travelled by helicopter mainly, some hunters would "ride the hook" when the chopper couldn't land. This meant that the hunter would attach the deer to a rope hanging from the chopper and then ride the deer down the mountain, hanging by a rope. Later, once they had reduced their numbers greatly, and also realized that there were easier ways to obtain venison, they began to start deer farms instead.
We stopped after two hours for a 30 min bathroom and coffee break in Te Anau. Dan and I mostly took this time to stretch our legs. We took a short walk at which point I started to get nervous so we turned back. Dan made fun of me for thinking we would be left behind when we still had 15 mins left. I guess I just didn't want to be out of site of the bus. We got back on the road and Dan and I made it back on the bus. We had a few photo stops along the way, to grab a few scenic photos. The first stop was of a river valley. I can't remember the name but it had a great mountain backdrop. We stopped at Mirror Lakes which with the clouds didn't lend it self to too much mirroring. The next stop was Monkey Creek which is fresh mountain water. Both Dan and I took a taste. It was crisp and clear. The last stop was The Chasms. It is a river and waterfall that had carved out art pieces in the rocks. It was a really cool area and Dan and I got some great photos.
Finally after 5 hours in the coach we made it to Milford Sound. Dan and I applied our sunscreen and our bug spray. We got onto the boat which was a huge boat with 2 closed decks and a top viewing deck. We got upstairs and ate some overpriced deli sandwiches and chips. They served a buffet on board but it was too expensive and we wanted to enjoy the viewing deck. In fact we spent nearly the entire cruise up top.
The cruise itself was rather disappointing. The weather was overcast but not raining. Now while rain is annoying, here it is good. For one the clouds blocked many of the peaks and with no rain there were not as many waterfalls. Since the mountains are very rocky the water doesn't stay up top too long and with in mins of rain waterfalls start to form. Other than that the scenery was very cool. It was fun to see the seals hanging out on a rocky beach. Coming up to the Tasman Sea (Pacific Ocean) was really neat. It was cool to see that endless water and the horizon. We didn't go too far out to the ocean and turned around. In front of us was a huge mountain wall. This mountain wall is thought to have keep Milford Sound secret during early exploration. Truly from the ocean it looks like it is just a bay. Once you get closer do you realize it is a sound. On the return trip we came ip really close to one of the two permanent waterfalls. We got all wet from Sterling Falls and it was fun to be really close. I wasn't sure if the large boat could get that close but boy we did. We made our way back through the mountain walled sound and landed a little bit less than 2 hours later.
We boarded the bus and headed back for the 4.5 hour drive back. After all the driving Milford Sound didn't seem quite worth the time. I am just hoping the pictures look good. We got dropped off in downtown Queenstown and we made our way to dinner. After that we picked up some chocolate and drank our complimentary bottle of champaign. Then it was off to bed.
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