Day 28 & 29: Te Anau and Milford Sound

Once again I was awake bright and early for my bus to Te Anau. It was a short walk from the YHA but it did involve dragging my case down 2 flights of stairs (easier than dragging them up 😳) As usual I got there in plenty of time then stood around waiting in the cold and dark, the buses here Actually very punctual, and this one appeared only 3 mins late. Unfortunately I was unable to get the best seat on the bus, this was grabbed by a group of Americans, but my seat was still pretty good. As it was still dark I had no idea what sort of weather we were going to have so I just sat back and waited to enjoy the journey. As we left Queenstown, we followed Lake Wakatipu past the Remarkables and then down through what’s know as ‘The Devils Staircase’ a series of steep and twisty turns in the road which were a little hairy! After which you come into a large valley, carved by glaciers many moons ago.  The weather was beautiful, a lovely sunrise which bathed the mountains in a soft pink glow and the valley was full of mist and frost, really gorgeous.

I have to say at this point that some (well, quite a few really) bus passengers really bloody annoy me. You have paid lots of money to travel from USA, China, Japan, Australia, wherever, presumably to see this stunning country and all its glorious scenery?? So why the Fuck are you sitting in this bus, in a prime seat playing Candy Crush on your tablet!! Or as is the majority of people, fast asleep! Get an early night, Jesus, you are all young, what’s so hard about staying awake for a few hours!!! I just don’t get it! It makes me cross. “Life is about the journey not the destination” wake up, look up, be in the moment, soak in the beauty of this amazing country. If you can’t be bothered to do this stay the fuck at home and let me have the good seat!!! 😳 Rant over.

We arrived in Te Anau and I was the only person departing the rest of the coach were going to Milford Sound, a UNESCO site of outstanding natural beauty for them to all sleep through! 😢

The good weather continued all day, although I was told there had been heavy snow and rain the night before which had caused avalanches on the Milford Sound Road, so the road was temporarily closed until lunchtime. I checked into my YHA, one of the nicest I’ve stayed at so far, had a little walk around the very small, quiet town. I grabbed some essentials from the supermarket and went back to the hostel and made some lunch. For some reason I am feeling really tired the last few days, so I grabbed my book, sat by the fire and prepared to chill…..I kept nodding off and after an hour I decided that I shouldn’t be sitting inside on such a lovely day, so I hoiked my arse up and went for a 2 hour walk by the lake. After this, and still feeling tired I went out for and early dinner and more importantly and early night. This  YHA is very nice, but it’s also very cold!! I have taken 3 blankets from the pile left for guests in the lounge, but I was still cold!! This is not normal for me 🥶

After a cold night I was awake early again!! Even though I’m not being picked up for my trip until 9.30! Today I am going to Milford Sound. I am very excited, it is supposed to be beautiful. Unfortunately the weather isn’t as good today, cloudy and wet. The coach picked me up, and it was already pretty full as it had come from Queenstown. The first part of the drive was good,  it you couldn’t really see the mountains due to the low cloud. But as we climbed higher the clouds got a bit better. We drive through mountains that are very prone to avalanche, so it’s a little hairy, you can see the evidence of previous avalanches all around. We stopped at a place called Monkey Creek to admire the view, taste the glacial water and to also see some Kea, Kea are a native parrot type bird that are highly intelligent and very inquisitive. We were lucky to see a pair that seemed very taken with the coach and trying their best to take it apart!! 😂😂

from here we climbed up through the mountains until we reached the Homer Tunnel. This is a 1.2km tunnel dug through the Granite Darren Mountain range. The tunnel was started  in the 1930s and completed in 1954. It travels over kilometre beneath the huge mountains, in an area with a high rate of both avalanches and more worryingly Earthquakes!! The tunnel itself really does look hand dug, no smooth sides, just a jagged, long, high hole through the mountain! A remarkable feat of civil engineering.

As you emerge from the tunnel the view is staggering!! Right down a snow capped valley towards the sound!

I was lucky enough to be traveling on a lovely old boat called The Milford Mariner. We traveled the full length of the Sound, which is in fact a Fiord. (Not sure of the difference,  google it!) it is named after Milford Haven in Wales, the town where John Grono who discovered it was from.

It is absolutely stunning! Another breathtaking place with huge towering cliffs, waterfalls and just unbelievably beautiful scenery.  We were extremely lucky to see a  Fiordland Crested Penguin, which are quite rare, ( I took pictures, but he was very small, so you can’t really see him, but I promise he was there and very cute) and some seals. We went right to the end of the Sound and out into a rather calm Tasman Sea, before heading back, into the wind and rain! I spent most of the time outside trying to get photos, and just soaking in the scenery, which meant I got a bit chilly!! The whole experience was magical. Although the weather was a bit wet and cloudy, this makes the Sound feel very brooding and it also means the waterfalls are in full flow! Another true remarkable experience.

The journey back was quicker, as we made no stops, the driver needed to get going pretty swiftly as there is bad weather predicted and the road often gets closed!

I arrived back in Te Anau around 5pm, and instead of going back to the hostel I headed straight for the pub! They have a fire and food! I am now back at the hostel writing this blog and sipping a nice glass of wine, which is very chilled, as it’s been in my room all day!! ❄️🥶

Tomorrow I am going to Doubtful Sound, which is supposed to be even more amazing!! ❤️

The photos do not do justice to the magnificence of Fiordland.

Kia Ora my lovely blog readers!! 😘😍XX

Author: hereandthereclaire

Hi, my name is Claire and I am 60 years young, welcome to my blog. I am new to the whole travel and blog writing world, so no judging! I recently made some big life changes, leaving my job in education and moving myself and my younger children to Newquay in Cornwall, I then started a business with some fantastic friends #coffeeonthecornernewquay. And now I am about to embark on my first big travel adventure...I would love to share this with you. Since starting this blog in 2018 I have made more changes, and now in 2024 I will be traveling full time for the next year! Please join me in sharing my Big Adventure! ❤️ View all posts by hereandthereclaire