Milford Sound

Greetings Everyone! So I am going to start off by saying, this was the best day of my life. It was absolutely amazing! Beth and I started the day with a really early morning, boarded a coach bus and started our way to beautiful Fiordlands National Park to see the stunning Milford sound. It was a Long 5 hour bus trip there but totally worth it. The drive was up and down through rolling hills then through sketchy mountain passes and under mountains through tunnels. We were allowed breaks though for some photo ops though. One of the first places we stopped was just when we entered the park. The whole area is a temperate rainforest so it is thick with huge trees and green undergrowth. The stop was at the Mirror Lakes. Crystal clear little ponds at the bottom of a canyon and bushy jungle all around. The forest where the lakes were was also where Peter Jackson filmed a lot of the scenes from Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, that were in a forest. Then we got back on the bus and kept going. Next we stopped off at a beautiful mountain stream. The water was so clean and clear that it is actually safe to drink straight from it. So beth and I took that opportunity to fill up our water bottles and drink the refreshing mountain water! Then we journeyed a little farther through tunnels and passes and around huge mountains with glaciers clinging to the sides and we finally made it! The Fiord! Milford Sound! One of the most beautiful places on earth and a world heritage sight. It was breath taking, I cannot even begin to describe what it looked like. But we boarded the boat for a 2 1/2 hour cruise through the fiord and out to the Tasman sea and back. It was incredibly windy in the fiord, up to 60mph! But it was a clear as can be day, and we couldn't have asked for anything more. We were very lucky to be there on such a nice day. It is a rainforest area and rains most of the time. There was blue clear water, seals, mountain cliffs that were two times the height of the Empire state building, water falls and Dolphins riding the bow of the boat. What a perfect day! We then docked the boat and got ready to drive the 5 hour bus trip home (BOOO!) but wait! There was an option to take a 40 min scenic plane ride back to Queenstown! As we all know, Beth is not a very fond flier... But with a lot of convincing and reassuring she finally gave in! YES! We get to the little air field that cant be more than football field size, board our little 8 seater plane and took off between the mountains on either side of Milford Sound. Good god this was amazing. The most beautiful places on earth and we are getting an areal view of them! We were flying right next to the glaciers on the mountains and seeing the blue lakes of glacial melt off from above. Wow... I don't think I will ever see anything more beautiful than that the rest of my life. Beth was not to keen on the view, I think she was just trying to concentrate on breathing in and out... The bumps and drops were awesome for me, but she was not too happy about them. OH WELL! I have never had more fun! We finally landed safe and sound in the airport at Queenstown and got back to our hotel. We then had burgers from the best hamburger place in the world, Fergburger. And yes, I agree, best. burger. ever! So all in all a spectacular day. I don't know how I will ever top that! Well thats all for now! Cheers!