We woke up Sunday morning from the Lakeside Holiday Park (motorhome park) in Queenstown and went to church in a small house at the south end of Lake Wakatipu. Surprisingly, there were less than 10 locals attending church (we expected a lot more than that since New Zealand has a high Mormon population, but, as we found out, most of them live on the North Island). After church, we headed directly south towards Te Anau. We stayed the night in Te Anau at the motorhome park right next to the lake and arose early the next morning for the 2 hour drive to Milford Sound.
The drive was incredible. On the way, we stopped a few times, taking the short walk to the Mirror Lakes, got out and ran around in the field alongside the Avenue of the Disappearing Mountain, drove through the Homer Tunnel, and stopped and walked to "The Chasm" before arriving in Milford Sound for our 1pm cruise on the Sound. It had rained extensively the day before, but, on this day, we had clear skies and no rain, so all of the waterfalls were out in full force for our boat tour of Milford Sound. The scenery was breathtaking. The pictures really don't do it justice because you can't really gauge the magnitude and size of the cliffs, waterfalls, and mountains.
Mirror Lakes on the drive between Te Anau and Milford Sound.
Family photo in the field just off the Avenue of the Disappearing Mountain.
Taking a break on the drive between Te Anau and Milford Sound.
We ran into this sheep stampede which blocked the road for a good 5 minutes.
Getting ready to drive through the Homer Tunnel, which goes right through the mountain between Te Anau and Milford Sound.
"The Chasm" from above…our last stop before Milford Sound.
We booked our Milford Sound cruise through Southern Discoveries and we were 11 of maybe 30 on the entire boat, which was great. We saw a bunch of other cruise ships with hundreds of people on each of them, which would not have been as good. Our boat drove right underneath 2 waterfalls, one of which was the fairy falls and had a good amount of water, but there were strong winds that blew the water all the way back so that it didn't make it into the water below in a steady stream. The other waterfall was powerful and we put the nose of the boat right underneath it so that those brave enough could get a "glacial facial" with the ice cold water. Ryder and Cody stayed out there the whole time, of course.
After our tour of Milford Sound, we made the scenic drive back to Te Anau and then continued all the way back to Queenstown in the dark.
The fairy falls blowing in the wind created this beautiful rainbow.
Cody and Eliza looking back toward Milford Sound.
Family photo in Milford Sound.
Beautiful green cliffs.
Sensory overload.
Grandma and Grandpa after the cruise.
One of the many waterfalls in Milford Sound after a day of heavy rains.
Panoramic view of Milford Sound with a cruise ship.
We lucked out and got beautiful blue skies for our cruise.
Endless cliffs, mountains, waterfalls, and greenery.
Mountains come straight down into the water and allegedly continue down for several thousand more feet.
Looking back into Milford Sound.
Cody and Scott in front of the waterfall.
A small waterfall in Milford Sound.
Beautiful scenery.
Green growing all over the cliffs of Milford Sound. Waterfalls everywhere you looked.
Seals, hanging out on one of the rocks in Milford Sound.
After our adventures in Milford Sound, we drove back to Queenstown to get an early start on our adrenaline-filled day of bungy jumping and jet boating...
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