We left the rain of Dunedin behind and took the Intercity coach across country to Te Anau, the nearest town to the spectacular Milford Sound. Te Anau is the small, laid-back, chilled out kinda town that we have come to love in New Zealand! It's right on the edge of Lake Te Anau, which is the largest lake in So
uth Island and the 2nd largest in New Zealand, after Lake Taupo. We arrived to blue skies, sunshine and to see the little seaplane coming in to land as we drove along the lake front! Couldn't have asked for a more perfect arrival than that! Our main reason for coming here was to take a trip on Milford S
ound, which is a definite "must see" if you're in New Zealand and is simply stunning! To get there we took a 2 hour trip by minibus along the Milford Road, otherwise known as State Highway 94, which has been described as one of the highest and most scenic state highways in New Zealand. 940 metres above sea level at its highest point! Also one of the windiest roa
ds, as you can see from the photo! (Can't take credit for that one myself unfortunately - searched it out on the web to show you what it was like!) Setting off on the boat we got a great view of the magnificent Mitre Peak which totally dominates the skyline. Awesome! (to quote a well used expression over here!) After that we thought we would be settling down for a leisurely, relaxing cruise but, due to the strength
and direction of the wind on the way out, we spent the first half of the trip ducking out of the way of the huge amounts of spray coming in bucket loads over the side of the boat! It was an amazing trip though along the fiord - random waterfalls, sh
eer cliffs rising str
aight up out of the sea and fur seals sunbathing on the rocks! Then on the drive home we stopped off at various scenic spots along the way for a few photos. We've also been trying to fit in some walks while we're here as there are some great walking tracks in the area. Have been a bit hampered by the weather though as some days it has been solid rain - and when it rains here it REALLY rains! I think th
is area gets more than it's fair share of rain most of the year, which is why its so green and lush and beautiful!! Still, we did manage to do part of the Kepler Track - up to Brod Bay, where you can see CK relaxing on her log on the beac
h! At least until the sand flies came by to say Hello! (Tiny but persistant & pesky little critters that actually draw blood!) That drove us off the beach quite quickly(!) despite coming across one of the many ready-made BBQs that are prevalent on the beaches over here - perfect if you happen to be carrying a slab of meat in your backpack! But, being as all we had were 2 bananas and a muesli bar, short of killing a possum (which is quite a sport in some parts over here as they are considered a pest!) we decided to give it a miss and headed down the track for home!
We left the rain of Dunedin behind and took the Intercity coach across country to Te Anau, the nearest town to the spectacular Milford Sound. Te Anau is the small, laid-back, chilled out kinda town that we have come to love in New Zealand! It's right on the edge of Lake Te Anau, which is the largest lake in So
uth Island and the 2nd largest in New Zealand, after Lake Taupo. We arrived to blue skies, sunshine and to see the little seaplane coming in to land as we drove along the lake front! Couldn't have asked for a more perfect arrival than that! Our main reason for coming here was to take a trip on Milford S
ound, which is a definite "must see" if you're in New Zealand and is simply stunning! To get there we took a 2 hour trip by minibus along the Milford Road, otherwise known as State Highway 94, which has been described as one of the highest and most scenic state highways in New Zealand. 940 metres above sea level at its highest point! Also one of the windiest roa
ds, as you can see from the photo! (Can't take credit for that one myself unfortunately - searched it out on the web to show you what it was like!) Setting off on the boat we got a great view of the magnificent Mitre Peak which totally dominates the skyline. Awesome! (to quote a well used expression over here!) After that we thought we would be settling down for a leisurely, relaxing cruise but, due to the strength 
and direction of the wind on the way out, we spent the first half of the trip ducking out of the way of the huge amounts of spray coming in bucket loads over the side of the boat! It was an amazing trip though along the fiord - random waterfalls, sh
eer cliffs rising str
aight up out of the sea and fur seals sunbathing on the rocks! Then on the drive home we stopped off at various scenic spots along the way for a few photos. We've also been trying to fit in some walks while we're here as there are some great walking tracks in the area. Have been a bit hampered by the weather though as some days it has been solid rain - and when it rains here it REALLY rains! I think th
is area gets more than it's fair share of rain most of the year, which is why its so green and lush and beautiful!! Still, we did manage to do part of the Kepler Track - up to Brod Bay, where you can see CK relaxing on her log on the beac
h! At least until the sand flies came by to say Hello! (Tiny but persistant & pesky little critters that actually draw blood!) That drove us off the beach quite quickly(!) despite coming across one of the many ready-made BBQs that are prevalent on the beaches over here - perfect if you happen to be carrying a slab of meat in your backpack! But, being as all we had were 2 bananas and a muesli bar, short of killing a possum (which is quite a sport in some parts over here as they are considered a pest!) we decided to give it a miss and headed down the track for home!
No comments:
Post a Comment