We arise early to travel out into the fiord.

The tide has come in and the fiord looks beautiful laid out before us.

There are several companies offering various trips out to the mouth of the fiord and beyond.

We choose one of the smaller boats from Encounter Tours and take the trip that focuses on the nature of the fiord.

It is how I get Maggie to commit to the boat trip though in truth the nature of the fiord means that it is pretty calm water.

The main body of water is up to 400 meters deep. It has been scoured out by up to five ice ages. The mouth is only 70 meters deep. When the glacier reaches the sea it deposits the heavier debris it has scoured out of the fiord and this means there is a natural barrier which leaves the fiord calmer than the sea.

It is also protected by the sheer cliffs the surround the fiord. These rise to 1690 meters at Mitre Peak and shelter the Fiord. We are lucky as the weather is beautiful.

It rains here 182 days a year. I think the even outdoes Fermanagh.

The boat travels the length of the fiord. It passes between sheer cliffs carved by the ice centuries ago and past numerous waterfalls both big and small. Well they all drop hundreds of feet just some have less water than others.

Milford Sound is one of New Zealand’s wettest places so there is usually plenty of rain to fill the waterfalls.
All in all it is a spectacular sight.
We leave the shore and it isn’t long before we spot some penguins in the distance in the open water just off Harrison Cove.

They dive in our approach but then we see dolphins.

These are bottlenose dolphins not native to the bay so we are lucky.

There is quite a big pod and a couple come over to the boat to follow us.

Brings a smile to Maggie’s face.

From there we leave the dolphins behind and head towards Mitre peak and Copper point.

There are a few Kayaks out exploring the fiord at closer quarters.

Here the guide shows us the waterfall flowing down an old earthquake fault.

After fairy falls we get another treat as we see some more of the penguins ? onshore.

These are supposedly the third rarest penguins so we are very lucky.

All in all the trip is very enjoyable and on the way back from the mouth of the fiord we even come across some seals lying about sunning themselves on a rock.

The waterfalls create their own rainbows.

For some strange reason this rock formation is called the boot.

The coloration is from iron deposits in the rock.

The fiord is about 200 meters deep and has sheer walls.
The skipper drives the boat under a waterfall and we get a taste of the fresh water. It is all good.

We have booked to also get off and go down into an underwater chamber to view fish etc.

Frankly I found this a bit disappointing as apart from black coral and a few sea anemones there arn’t that many fish. (Black coral is white and isn’t in fact coral but it is pretty.) I guess it was never going to match up to the Great Barrier Reef.

From the it is back to Milford Sound. It isn’t of course a sound as that is created by river erosion but in fact should be known a Milford Fiord.
We head off back up towards the tunnel.

When we stop to take a photo before leaving the gorge we are visited by more of the Kea’s that we saw at the other side of the tunnel. They are the largest and most intelligent parrots and jump straight up onto the door mirror to get some food. Maggie is able to feed them from her hand.

We are travelling to Queenstown which is about a 4.50 hour journey.
On the way once out of the fiord area and back to Te Anau we pick up first one and then another hitchhiker and so we have plenty of chat on the journey.
After Te Anau we get into more open countryside still with huge green hills to either side but the snow is gone.

When we approach Queenstown we hit lake Watatipu. The rest of the journey is along the shore of the lake and it picturesque.
Arriving in Queenstown we are pleasantly greeted by a town that hugs the lakeside and has an alpine feel about it. Lots of Northface, Kathmandu, and extreme sports shops mixed with restaurants backpacker accommodation surrounded by I guess expensive pads higher up overlooking the town.
The campsite is called Queenstown holiday camp and is thankfully situated within walking distance of the town centre. It is well laid out and has a hostel feel about it with lots of hang out rooms for people to get together and chill.
The nature of the clientele is dictated by the place Queenstown is and so in general has a younger crowd. Suits us then.
We walk into town and get a lovely meal. There must be wealthy patrons in the town as there are a lot of good restaurants sitting down towards the water. There is also plenty of fast food joints to suit a more restricted budget.
A good nights sleep awakes and a day to do nothing with no travelling planned.