Of the 3,000+ pictures from Christmas Vacation, over 700 were from Milford Sound, and I'm still not sure that we managed to capture the magic of this place. Either way - prepare yourself for picture overload!
We did a tour with the
BBQ Bus. I was a little wary of the company when I booked it, but it was the only one that didn't stick you on a huge coach with 80 other people, so I decided to give it a go. It turned out to be even better than I could have dreamed! There were only seven people on our bus, and we were five of them. The drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound takes 4-5 hours, so the trip is almost as important as the destination.
Milford Sound is actually a fjord, and may be the most famous site in all of New Zealand that isn't associated with Lord of the Rings. According to Wikipedia, Rudyard Kipling once called it the eighth wonder of the world, and it's not hard to see why. The Sound itself is breathtaking - full of waterfalls and mountains and wild life. Two out of three days in Milford Sound are rainy, so we were very fortunate to have a sunny, warm, clear, perfect day. I'd like to go back when it's rainier to see the waterfalls, but we couldn't have asked for a better first visit.
Truth be told, the journey ended up being even better than our stunning destination. The further into the Fjordland National Park you drive, the more magical it gets. The BBQ Bus gets its name from its lunch stop. We stopped at a lovely little riverbank that the bigger coaches can't access, and wandered around among the lupins while our driver grilled up lunch on the BBQ he had packed in the trunk.
Once we reached the Sound, we took a 2 hour boat ride, complete with a trip into the waterfall. Before boarding, our driver mentioned there was an option to fly back to Queenstown on a Cessna prop plane. I'm completely terrified of heights, and even moreso of flying, but I guess I was feeling giddy from the magic of the day and expressed interest. It turned out to be way too expensive for us, but when we returned from our boat ride, the driver let us know they'd be willing to fly us at a steep discount. D&L weren't interested, but me, Rob and M jumped at the chance.
By some lucky twist of fate, I ended up in the co-pilot seat for the 45 minute flight. I had multiple panic attacks and my vision may have gone spotty for a few minutes, but it ended up being the high point of a year that was already so full of magic, fun and adventure - and easily one of the best experiences of my entire life.
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| Stopping for lunch with the BBQ bus - not a bad spot for a picnic! |
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| More stops along the way. The mountain range behind us in the top left picture is where the Routeburn Track is located, which Kiwis consider to be an "easy/moderate" trail. Rob and I are planning to hike the Routeburn Track over Easter, so this was a surprise to us! The mountains behind D&L in the top right picture are more famously known as the Misty Mountains. |
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| On a boat tour of Milford Sound |
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| The famous Milford Sound waterfalls - and me experimenting with the best ways to keep my beer safe from them. |
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| I still can't believe I volunteered for this (and am so glad I did)! One last picture of Rob, M and I before taking off! Right: Picture of our plane from the air. Bottom left: A quick detour over Milford Sound before heading back to Queenstown. |
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| I'm a co-pilot! The real pilot took the top right picture of me, and his hands were both on my camera while mine were both on my steering wheel holding the plane steady. So technically, I have flown a Cessna! Try not to be as terrified as I was (and Rob and M understandably were) by this idea. |
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| Views from the plane |
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| More views - no words. |
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| Flying into Queenstown. Top left: Views from the cockpit. Bottom right: Hank, our pilot, with our plane. |
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