Take a peek at our latest photos in the Asia 8 folder...
http://www.vengara.co.uk/photos.html
We awoke by a huge lake called Te Anau, packed our very wet tent away and took the dead end route towards Milford Sound. 90km of the most spectacular scenery and truly amazing to see. We stopped at many viewpoints enroute. One of the most incredidle was called the 'chasm'. A fast flowing stream, cascading through a tight gorge cutting rocks into some interesting shapes. The water was so powerful after yesterday's rain!
We continued on the winding road and passed through a really long tunnel, that had been cut through the mountainside. It was very dark and eerie!
Eventually we arrived in Milford Sound. The weather was dry but a thin mist hung in the mountains of the fijord. We decided on a boat for our trip up the fijord. It was lunchtime and we were slightly swayed towards the one that offered free 'fish and chips'!
We only had to wait 5 minutes before we left the shore behind and began our journey along Milford Sound. It didn't take long before the crew called us in for our meal and a cup of hot chocolate. What a treat ... peanut butter sandwiches can wait until tomorrow!
There were so many waterfalls everywhere. The boat carefully approached one. A member of the crew stood on the bow in his rain coat with 2 empty jugs ... and the skipper managed to fill them both from the waterfall. Even though we stood well back, we got totally soaked!
We were able to go out far into the Tasman Sea, as there was no swell today. We turned around and headed back in. The scenery of the fijord is awesome. From snow capped peaks to seals, we saw it all. A crew member told a Maori traditional story related to the two turtle shaped rocks, which was great. One of the highlights being a pod of playful dolphins that rode the bow wave and hung around for photos for at least 10 minutes!
The boat carefully manouvered towards a cliff face and stopped with inches to spare. It was 700m of vertical rock and looking up from the bow was really amazing.
As we were almost back in port, we spotted a group of kayakers enjoying a paddle in the fjord and a helicopter tour enjoying an ariel view of this magnificent area.
Wow, what a trip we'd had! We headed back the way we came along the road and stopped at the Routeburn track entrance. The Routeburn track is listed as one of New Zealand's Great Walks and we took the first part of the trail to Summit point. At the top was a small lake and fantastic views over the surrounding mountains. Very impressive! The way down, as always, seemed quicker. We hopped in the car and drove on to our campsite for the night.
http://www.vengara.co.uk/photos.html
We awoke by a huge lake called Te Anau, packed our very wet tent away and took the dead end route towards Milford Sound. 90km of the most spectacular scenery and truly amazing to see. We stopped at many viewpoints enroute. One of the most incredidle was called the 'chasm'. A fast flowing stream, cascading through a tight gorge cutting rocks into some interesting shapes. The water was so powerful after yesterday's rain!
We continued on the winding road and passed through a really long tunnel, that had been cut through the mountainside. It was very dark and eerie!
Eventually we arrived in Milford Sound. The weather was dry but a thin mist hung in the mountains of the fijord. We decided on a boat for our trip up the fijord. It was lunchtime and we were slightly swayed towards the one that offered free 'fish and chips'!
We only had to wait 5 minutes before we left the shore behind and began our journey along Milford Sound. It didn't take long before the crew called us in for our meal and a cup of hot chocolate. What a treat ... peanut butter sandwiches can wait until tomorrow!
There were so many waterfalls everywhere. The boat carefully approached one. A member of the crew stood on the bow in his rain coat with 2 empty jugs ... and the skipper managed to fill them both from the waterfall. Even though we stood well back, we got totally soaked!
We were able to go out far into the Tasman Sea, as there was no swell today. We turned around and headed back in. The scenery of the fijord is awesome. From snow capped peaks to seals, we saw it all. A crew member told a Maori traditional story related to the two turtle shaped rocks, which was great. One of the highlights being a pod of playful dolphins that rode the bow wave and hung around for photos for at least 10 minutes!
The boat carefully manouvered towards a cliff face and stopped with inches to spare. It was 700m of vertical rock and looking up from the bow was really amazing.
As we were almost back in port, we spotted a group of kayakers enjoying a paddle in the fjord and a helicopter tour enjoying an ariel view of this magnificent area.
Wow, what a trip we'd had! We headed back the way we came along the road and stopped at the Routeburn track entrance. The Routeburn track is listed as one of New Zealand's Great Walks and we took the first part of the trail to Summit point. At the top was a small lake and fantastic views over the surrounding mountains. Very impressive! The way down, as always, seemed quicker. We hopped in the car and drove on to our campsite for the night.
