The next day, after a quick breakfast, we checked out from the hotel and went to the town's mini market for some tidbits. We had a long journey ahead so it was wise to have enough food supply in the car. After taking photos in front of a cute sheep sculpture, it was time to hit the road.
We drove for over 3 hours to Cromwell, a town know as the "Fruit Bowl" of the South. We didn't explore the town but we did take photos in front of this huge fruit sculpture.
After 15 minutes or so, we were back on the road. Along the way, we would stop for scenic view of waterfalls and interesting pictures of camping sites.
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From Queenstown, we drove another 2 hours to Te Anau, the main rest stop on the way to Milford Sound. We stopped at the local gas station to stock up on petrol and get some ice cream for the kids. Since Te Anau doesn't have a lot of tourist attractions, we didn't do any sightseeing. We continued our journey to Milford Sound and managed the trip in 2 hours.
When we arrived at Milford Lodge, I let out a huge sigh of relief. I spent such a long time sitting in the car, I started having butt cramps! The moment we got out of the car, we were instantly attacked by a swarm of sand flies. They are the most annoying creatures! I quickly ran to the reception to check in and get the key to our cabin.
The kids and I spent the rest of the evening resting in the cabin while hubby and my colleague, Abdullah went fishing at a nearby river. Oh. I didn't mention Abdullah before this because he started his trip a few days earlier. We only met each other at the Lodge and promised to go on a boat cruise together.
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| Catch of the day |
The next morning we woke up at 8.00 am and quickly got ready for our 9.30 am boat cruise. We got to the visitor terminal just in the nick of time. After getting our passes, we boarded the Lady of the Sounds, where we had our complimentary breakfast of toasts, cereals and fruits.
After breakfast, all of us went up to the top deck to get a better view of the Sound. Luckily for us the weather was excellent. With 7m of rain per year, this is a very rare occurrence. Despite the clear, sunny weather, my photos didn't turn out as beautiful as
Carol's. Hubby and I were too busy keeping an eye on the kids, we hardly had time to focus on photos. Regardless, I really, really enjoyed the view especially the beautiful waterfall, the mountains, the glacier and the seals. Everything looked amazing! By the way, according to Carol, Milford Sound was named the most visited place in the world a few years back.
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| Seals |
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| Alva looking rather grumpy |
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| Celebrating our anniversary on the cruise |
1 hour and 45 minutes later, after cruising all around the Sound, our boat returned to the visitor terminal. We headed back to Milford Lodge to have a quick lunch before starting our long journey to Wanaka. Oh! Before leaving Milford Sound, hubby and I managed to take some cool photos in front of a glacier cave next to the entrance of Homer tunnel. We didn't go inside the cave cos Alva and Alden were waiting in the car.
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| Glacier cave in front of Homer Tunnel |
It was 1 and a half hours back to Te Anau where we stopped for a toilet break, and then a further 2 and a half hours to Queenstown. In Queenstown, we did some sightseeing around town and bought a few souvenirs at a local gift shop. Since it was getting late, we decided to have dinner with Abdullah before heading to Wanaka.
After a dinner of fish and chips, we hit the road again for another 55km journey to Wanaka. When we finally arrived, we checked into Wanaka Hotel, located just 500m from the town centre. We hit the sack right after checking in as we were all exhausted. The next day, I asked hubby to take us to Puzzling World. Since it was the last day of our trip, I thought we ought to do something fun for the kids. We decided to be adventurous and bought tickets for the illusion rooms and the Great Maze. The illusion rooms have many interesting hologram pictures and a number of little rooms at bizzarre angles. Alden and Alva had fun exploring each room and almost drove me nuts with their antics. After the boggling room tour and walking through the maze, all of us were exhausted.
By late afternoon, we had enough of Puzzling World and all too soon, it was time to get home. It was a long 7-hour drive from Wanaka to Christchurch, but we couldn't complain 'cos there were lots of breathtaking sceneries along the way. The most memorable one was this beautiful rainbow we saw along Mackenzie country.
As the cloud set in for the night, we finally reached home - exhausted but thoroughly satisfied. We've had many wonderful trips before but our recent trip to Milford Sound was definitely my favourite. It was an experience I can never forget :)
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