To Milford Sound

In spite of the bad forecast, I started my journey to Milford Sound. It was a weather roller coaster, no doubt. While it rained, I drove past vineyards and orchards again, then south along the east shore of Lake Wakatipu (windy road, yes!) to Kingston. Along the Mid Dome range the rain became sleet (2ºC), then changed to rain again. After the tunnel that passes through the Darran mountain range and into the Cleddau Valley (945 metres above sea level), there was the brightest of sunshine at a positively hot 15ºC!

I stopped at a number of places along the way in Fiordland National Park: at Walker Creek, Mirror Lakes, and Monkey Creek, where I saw my first Keas! And, of course, sunny Milford Sound itself. I bought a coffee and looked for the place with the best view to drink it. And what spectacular view it was: high mountain peaks jutting directly out of the sea!

It being the best seat on location, I naturally wasn’t the only one there. My neighbour, a Queenstown tour guide, turned out to be waiting for his guests to return from a boat trip around the sound. I grabbed the chance to ask him what were the must-dos to experience the Queenstown vibe. He suggested a Dart River jetboat trip and a visit to Glenorchy, a small settlement about 50km north of Queenstown at the north end of Lake Wakatipu. There I shouldn’t miss Mrs Woolly’s General Store and the adjacent public flush toilets. Some toilets these must be if a guide specifically mentions them!

I had a long drive back to Queenstown ahead of me to decide on which, if any, of these thrills I won’t be doing without.