Monday, March 5, 2018

Milford Sound and Queenstown

The Chasm, Near Milford Sound

We have now experienced “You can’t get there from here”.  But, the getting there and back again was a delightful drive through the most scenic splendor.  The area is called Te Wahipounamu... but you can just call it Fjordland.  It is South West New Zealand, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed landscape.  Rather than trying to describe the magnificent mountains and the gorgeous plains, I’ll just suggest you linger over my photos and image something 10 times better.  As our new site coordinator, Ian said.  “I love to watch what mood the mountains will reveal each day.”  Our destination from Te Anau was Milford Sound, a two hour drive north where we took a cruise through the sound out towards the Tasman Sea.  The weather has been very kind to us and was again today.  The Sound is actually a fjord created by glaciers.  We made a few photo op stops and a small hiking stop through The Chasm.

Queenstown from Bob’s Peak

Next stop was Queenstown.  But you truly cannot get there from Milford Sound.  So...back south to Te Anau, turn left and head north for another 2 hours. Queenstown is not a favorite of our guides because it is a tourist town.  They prefer the more remote areas where tramping (hiking) is best.  We’re okay with Queenstown because our hotel it top notch and the WiFi is fast.  We have a good view of Lake Wakatipu and had dinner on Bob’s Peak accessed by a gondola.  Let me add here that at all but one stop we have had 5 star meals.  Tonight’s offering was buffet style with every meat, fish and vegetable one could want.  The tuna sashimi was the best I have ever tasted. Photos at flickr.