After Queenstown, we drove to Te Anau – a tiny lakeside town a couple of hours drive from Milford Sound. Lake Te Anau, seen from virtually anywhere in Te Anau, is one of New Zealand’s largest lakes. Our accommodations in Te Anau was particularly scenic, as we were perched on a hill that overlooked rolling green hills and pastured with snow-capped mountains in the distance.
Milford Sound is a spectacular fiord that was formed by glaciers cutting through mountains thousands of years ago. (Interestingly enough, Milford Sound was incorrectly named a sound by the Welshmen that discovered it. It is technically a fiord, which is a glacially sculpted canyon. A sound, on the other hand, is sculpted by a river.) The rocky cliffs surrounding the fiord were 1,600 meters high and covered with trees, greenery, and many waterfalls.
We took a nature cruise around Milford Sound that lasted a little over two hours. The ship was brand new and offered heaters as well as a café and full bar. The ship was small enough that it could sail underneath waterfalls and right up to the cliffs. We saw fur seals and many friendly, bottle-nosed dolphin. Milford Sound is a wildly natural and beautiful place, and we definitely think it’s a Must Do for anyone visiting the New Zealand. Check out the photos for evidence!
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Love all the updates and you guys look very happy. Those accomodations looked very relaxing-plus, what a beautiful lake-can you believe summer is coming right up for you as we begin to wear our sweaters;). Look forward to more updates! Oh, are you enjoying the sheep? I hear they're everywhere and the Aussies usually have fun pointing that out too ;)
ReplyDeleteFantastic! Loving the blog. It does seem like you guys just left but have already covered some serious ground. Looking forward to the Australia updates
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