Kiwi Land, Part VIII

Location: Gunn’s Camp vintage accommodation

Date: 31 May 2012

Time: 9:15 PM

It was still dark out when we left Queenstown at 6:45 for the deep south extension trip.  Our new driver is E.T. (as in the Spielberg movie).  All the Stray drivers are supposed to have weird nicknames (Whales, Gollum, Scratch, Swede, etc.), each with a funny story about how they acquired that moniker.  E.T. is pretty cool and laid back, different from Whales but in a good way.

The reason we left so early was so we could get to Milford Sound in time for our cruise.  We stopped briefly in Te Anau, the town nearby, first for some grocery shopping.  Of course, E.T. stopped at all the good vistas so we could take pictures like the typical tourists that we are (you know, a horde of people getting out of the bus, staring into the viewfinder, and jumping back on). Needless to say, the scenery is still amazing.

On of the stops was Mirror Lake, where the water is so smooth that it reflects the mountains above like a mirror.  We remarked that the mountains look even prettier in the reflection.

Mirror Lake

Anyways, we got to Milford Sound around 1.  Milford is actually a fjord (not sure why they call it a sound), about 8 miles long, stretching out to the Tasman Sea on the west coast.  The crystal blue water is about 1000 meters deep, and it’s surrounded on both sides with enormous cliffs over 1,500 meters high.  Countless waterfalls shoot through the trees and rocks into the fjord.

So the cruise was incredible.  The skipper pointed out what we were seeing as we headed out to sea on the south side and then back along the north.  (Most of the other people on the boat were Asian tourists, so they repeated all the commentary in various languages I didn’t understand which was a bit frustrating because it was loud and I just wanted to enjoy the view, but it’s only fair that they should understand what’s going on, I guess.)  It’s hard to explain exactly how amazing the view was.  All I could manage to say was ‘wow.’  It’s safe to say there are no places in the world more beautiful.

Apart from the scenery, the other highlights of the Milford cruise were seeing dolphins and seals, and also when the boat sailed right up next to the biggest waterfall so it sprayed everyone on the bow.

Dolphins!

Now we’re staying the night at Gunn’s Camp, a vintage 50s era accommodation.  When I say vintage, I don’t just mean style.  Really, this place runs on generator electricity.  The water for the shower is heated with an actual fire, and the cabins are heated with coal stoves that we had to light ourselves.

The coal stove that will keep us warm tonight.

The glowworm adventure…. Supposedly there was a spot near Gunn’s Camp where we would be able to see a bunch of glowworms, so Sandra, E.T. and I tried to go find them.  We didn’t.  We bushwhacked a few meters into the thick rainforest on the side of the road where we thought they were, with only a tiny flashlight, and then decided to turn back because we were lost.  We were getting smacked in the face with thorns and branches and all sorts of crazy things, until finally we got back to the road (not in the same place we left it) and had to climb up a muddy bank.  My jeans and shoes got filthy, but it was a worthwhile adventure (even though we didn’t see the worms).