Milford Sound. Getting there was half the fun
Trip Start
Nov 05, 2002
1
46
69
Trip End
Aug 13, 2003
Loading Map
Fiordland,
New Zealand
Wednesday, June 4, 2003
To continue. Before getting back to Queenstown we did a round trip drive, from Te Anau, to Milford Sound which is probably the most famous fiord in the country. Gorgeous, calm water between towering snow capped peaks disrupted only by the breaking of waterfalls and the touring cruise ships. The drive there was nearly as good as the fiord itself. This area is a very beautiful and very remote area of the south island and it was only in the 50's that the area was opened up to traffic with the completion of the Homer tunnel which was HAND cut through a mountain. The tunnel took nearly 20 years to complete, a testament to the remoteness of the site not to mention the complexity of the task. Even today the drive out to Milford Sound gives the impression of going back in time, to a land so undisturbed and rarely visited (which it's not!).
After our boat tour to the mouth of the fiord and back we drove back to Queenstown to drop off the hire car. It was then we decided to enquire into the possibility of hiring a camper van for the remained of our time in New Zealand. Once a traveller, always a traveller! Although we had really enjoyed the bus rides we had taken thus far in New Zealand (we really recommend the Great Sights busses!) I guess the sense of freedom we became accustomed to in Australia (and to a lesser extent when touring the Catlins in out hire car) was hard to shake. So heading out to the Queenstown Airport we were very pleasantly surprised to find we could have a van for $39 a day, dropping it off in Auckland on June 26th, just over 3 weeks from now! Class. The price was due to the fact that it was low season. Suits us. Yahooo. We have to pick up the van in the morning so we'll be spending our last night in Queenstown tonight before heading for Lake Wanaka, a few hours north of Queenstown, tomorrow.
The adventure continues!
Dave and B
