As we set off in the morning our original intention was to spend the night in Te Anau, and then drive the short distance to Milford Sound the next day. Making good time along the snow free roads, we passed through the town of Gore. Gore is the self proclaimed ‘Brown Trout’ capital of the world, as well as the ‘Country and Western’ capital of New Zealand! Much more importantly, the baker sells quite nice sausage rolls! Fighting against the overwhelming urge to spend longer in Gore, we continued our journey towards Te Anau. As we had made really good time we arrived in Te Anau at about 2pm and after a quick phone call to Milford lodge regarding the road conditions and whether they had a campervan site, we decided to continue on. The drive to Milford is extremely scenic, with a brief stop at the beautiful Mirror Lakes being a particular highlight. Trying to resist the urge to keep stopping for photos we eventually made it to Milford Lodge at about 4:30pm, just before it started to get really cold. The lodge was quite nice but the campervan site was to say the least haphazard. We did however have our first close encounter with a Kea (Alpine Parrot), which we fed some bread before we had read the sign telling us not to, oops!
For the first time since we left Christchurch the campervan didn’t actually seem like a good idea as we spent the coldest night we had yet encountered. The freezing temperatures weren’t helped by the fact that all of the electricity at the lodge was via a generator, which was turned off between 11pm and 7am, so our heater didn’t work! After a somewhat fitful night’s sleep we set off to the wharf for a boat trip on Milford Sound. Milford Sound is actually a fjord and not a sound, as it was formed by a glacier and not a river, which was originally thought at the time of naming. Speaking from a purely personal point, I have to say that I think Milford Sound is one of the most overrated tourist attractions in New Zealand. In a country with so much beautiful scenery the sound was rather lost on me, plus it is in the middle of nowhere, with only one road leading in and out. I am sure that many would disagree with me, Debs included, but rather than wasting a day getting there and back, you could spend more time enjoying the easily accessible and just as beautiful mountains and lakes that cover the south island.
With the boat trip over we set off once again bound for Queenstown (New Zealand’s adventure capital). Aside from a slight incident when I may have underestimated how much diesel we had left (we did actually make it to the garage, but it was touch and go!) we arrived safely and checked into yet another Top Ten holiday park.
For the first time since we left Christchurch the campervan didn’t actually seem like a good idea as we spent the coldest night we had yet encountered. The freezing temperatures weren’t helped by the fact that all of the electricity at the lodge was via a generator, which was turned off between 11pm and 7am, so our heater didn’t work! After a somewhat fitful night’s sleep we set off to the wharf for a boat trip on Milford Sound. Milford Sound is actually a fjord and not a sound, as it was formed by a glacier and not a river, which was originally thought at the time of naming. Speaking from a purely personal point, I have to say that I think Milford Sound is one of the most overrated tourist attractions in New Zealand. In a country with so much beautiful scenery the sound was rather lost on me, plus it is in the middle of nowhere, with only one road leading in and out. I am sure that many would disagree with me, Debs included, but rather than wasting a day getting there and back, you could spend more time enjoying the easily accessible and just as beautiful mountains and lakes that cover the south island.
With the boat trip over we set off once again bound for Queenstown (New Zealand’s adventure capital). Aside from a slight incident when I may have underestimated how much diesel we had left (we did actually make it to the garage, but it was touch and go!) we arrived safely and checked into yet another Top Ten holiday park.
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