Woke up at 06:00 – and I thought I was on holiday – to get the coach to Milford Sound, a journey of 5 hours that I wasn’t looking forward to. Popped over the road – 0700 and still dark – to wait for the bus to pick us up which was on time and only about half full. It was a bit chilly so we had jackets on today. After about 40 minutes it started to get light so we could see the scenery; we were driving along the side of a lake surrounded by mountains. I won’t write much this time because it was all scenery and I can’t do it justice – I’ve uploaded some photos. The trip went quickly, lots of incredible views to keep us interested, plus a couple of stops for the toilet and coffee as well as photo opportunities. Arrived at Milford, a very small town with a few shops – apparently there are about 30 people there in Winter.
Got on the boat and it took us around the Sound and out to sea, then back in. Again, the scenery was amazing, plus we were joined by a pod of dolphins that were swimming around the boat. Learnt a couple of things ; it’s not a Sound, it’s a Fjord. Sounds are created by water, Fjords are created by glaciers, and Milford Sound was created by a glacier, so it should be called Milford Fjord. Captain Cook sailed past it twice without seeing it, because you can’t see the entrance from out at sea, it’s basically hidden. Some guy discovered it by accident during a storm.
We were really lucky with the weather, it was cloudy but the sun came out every so often to shine on the mountains.
The trip back allowed us to see the sights in the afternoon light, and it went quickly.
All in all a great day, and my initial worry about spending so long on a coach was unfounded.
I also discovered we are not in the country I thought we were – we’re actually in New Zillend.
Nothing planned for tomorrow, we’ll head into town and decide whether to do a trip or just chill.
