Sunday - Routeburn to Milford Sound (Fiord)

I cannot believe it's Sunday - our holiday is almost over. How can that be??? We woke up early (again) and headed out to do part of the Routeburn track. It was very quiet and beautiful - we crossed 2 swing bridges and watched the sun rise up into the river valley below. (On the trail, there were signs posted that we shouldn't cross 'the trap lines' & there were other signs that NZ was poisoning something.... hmmm... could it be the possums?) We decided to cut the hike short and head back down to get an early start to Milford Sound.

From New Zealand

We stopped in Te Anau for lunch, at this great cafe called The Sandfly Cafe. Apparently, they used to have computers covered in possum fur (what is the deal with these possums, btw?) but those were gone. (I was a bit concerned about the quality of the place from the description, but it turned out to be great!) We were then off to the Milford Sound.

With some incredible luck, we got on the last cruise of the day and it was a 3 hour cruise - no, not on the USS Minnow - but an 'encounter cruise' where they show you more of the nature in the sound. Did you know that Milford Sound isn't really a Sound at all - it's a fiord (because it was carved out by glaciers)? I thought... that would explain why the park is called Fiordland Nat. Park.

From New Zealand

From New Zealand

The cruise was awesome - it was the skippers & the tour director's last cruise, so it was essentially a party barge with a some Milford locals and just a few of us tourists. Two of the crew members jumped into the sound; they also put the nose of the boat right under a waterfall - GP and I were soaked by the end of the tour, but it was just fine with us. The scenery was amazing, and it was probably the best thing we've done on the trip.

From New Zealand

Then, at 6:45, we docked & PG & I decided to head out and get a 'head start' on the next day's travel. So, we got back to Te Anau and decided to find a place to sleep. We first tried a Youth Hostel, but it looked full. Then we tried to find the Barnyard Backpackers place but it felt too far out of town & too remote, so we turned back to town before even finding it. We then tried a couple of motels here in the center of town and all of the offices were closed (it wasn't even 9:00). It seems like everything closes down around 7:00 in this country...

But, we found a place called the Arran Motel, that is pretty nice - nice shower, nice owner, and fairly good sized room. And, we have unlimited wireless Internet for $5 NZ. SCORE.

And, tomorrow/this morning, we're off to the north toward Christchurch. We're trying to get there in time to catch the train to Arthur's Pass, so we'll be driving a lot today.