11 to Milford Sound (Thurs. Feb. 13)
We start by going around the east side of Lake Wakatipu and along the Remarkables mountain range (on our left). To the right we pass Kelvin Heights and Deer Park Heights (both used during the filming of LOTR). These mountains are rugged with sharp dramatic summits. This morning the mountains are covered in the clouds and that presents striking visuals. 
We follow the eastern arm of the lake (the lake is in the form of a backwards "Z") and when we reach the end and Kingstown we continue to head south towards Five Rivers.
When we reach Five Rivers (Jeff, just south of the town is a river system that resembles the "Trident" in the "Song of Ice and Fire" trilogy) we now turn west. The mountain ranges and rolling grassy hills make for great contrasts. At Mossburn we pick up route 94 and continue west. Our next town is Te Anau (which has the beautiful beech trees of Fangorn Forest. And no, I did not see the exact location, we are close but had to take a picture without really being near or knowing exactly where to look. In my opinion, any of the sights we do see could work for the locations.
At Te Anau (LOTR film locations are here but I don't know where) we are paralleling Lake Te Anau. It is a very large lake and eventually come to our last town, Te Anau Downs, before reaching the Fiordland National Park.
Before long we are making a pit stop. Only this stop in at a view point looking back through Eglington Valley. Wat a sight. The vista here is simply fantastic. I know I use that description liberally, but I can not think of any other word that might express the same visual aspect of these lands and mountains. And as I've mentioned on other occasions, the pictures do not do the true visuals justice. (For some reason, most of these pictures are somewhat out of focus. But it is still overcast and the cloud cover is making it difficult for the camera to focus.)
The bus makes a stop at Mirror Lake which is a small pond really. When the sun is out (and it has not done so so far) you can get good mirrored pictures of the mountains from the pond. However, because of the wind and cloud cover, the only thing really working in the Mirror Lake is a sign with the words "Mirror Lake" upside down so it reads correctly on the pond. The Eglington Valley and Mirror Lake are part of the South New Zealand World Heritage Area.
Next we stop at Monkey River and almost everyone gets water form the river to drink (I know what some of you are thinking, but no comments please). After filling up an empty water bottle, I taste the water. It is quite good and as indicated it should have lots of good minerals and is pure - well it looks like water and tastes like water and it is running in a river (stream really) and the water tastes good. What more could you ask for?
We have to wait at the tunnel for a green light, since the traffic is one way only. When we get to the other side, the valley opens up to a place called "The Chasm". Wow. Reminds me of one of the passes we crossed in Switzerland with the roads cutting back and forth to go up and down. You can see for a long way and the road weaving back and forth. It is a fantastic view.
We continue down from the top of the Chasm and shortly arrive at Milford sound. The sun has come out since passing through the tunnel and it looks like the weather will be good for the boat ride. We make it through the terminal and head out to the dock.
On the docks we have a preview of what we will see. The mountains are almost vertical and the water is really blue.
As we are on our way back in, we pass a number of seals on a rock and playing in the water. Then further, we come to the second falls on our way out. 
It is really high and there is a lot of water coming down. The waterfall is also coming down the vertical cliff hitting the rocks on the way down then directly into the water. The boat captain brings the bow of the boat right up to the edge of the waterfall and you can fell the power of the falling water. It is difficult to take pictures as the water spray is getting on the lens, 
But I get a picture of Carmen anyway.
We return the rest of the way back into the fiord and after passing the first waterfall again, dock. Everyone is trying to get off the boat early so we can be one of the first buses to leave. This will help to get back on time and not be delayed behind slow moving buses. There is no other way to return to the hotel but to drive back along the same route we drove here this morning. That just means I get to take more pictures of the same great vistas I wasn't able to get earlier.
We return to the hotel sometime around 6:30PM and everyone is meeting in the lobby for some drinks (Jon I had a Speight's Gold Medal Ale) and then a farewell dinner. (The group that was together will split up for the Australia portion of the trip. Some are going on the shorter trip (like us) while others on a longer trip to include Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock).
I know these postings are really late. By the time we get back to the hotel and I load the pictures and start writing the blog information it is late. Also, there is no "free" Internet anywhere; you have to pay for it and it is pretty expensive. I have to buy a twenty minutes to get everything loaded and spell checked. Oh well, the daily information will just be late that's all. Until later.
We are heading to Milford Sound today. Our travels will take us south, then west, then north. There is no direct path to Milford Sound (which, as we learn, is really a fiord) so we are going in a round about way; essentially making a big "U" around the mountains. We will pass through Te Anau (the site for the LOTR filming of the beautiful beech trees of Fangorn Forest) through Homer Pass, then onto Milford Sound.
We start by going around the east side of Lake Wakatipu and along the Remarkables mountain range (on our left). To the right we pass Kelvin Heights and Deer Park Heights (both used during the filming of LOTR). These mountains are rugged with sharp dramatic summits. This morning the mountains are covered in the clouds and that presents striking visuals. 
We follow the eastern arm of the lake (the lake is in the form of a backwards "Z") and when we reach the end and Kingstown we continue to head south towards Five Rivers. When we reach Five Rivers (Jeff, just south of the town is a river system that resembles the "Trident" in the "Song of Ice and Fire" trilogy) we now turn west. The mountain ranges and rolling grassy hills make for great contrasts. At Mossburn we pick up route 94 and continue west. Our next town is Te Anau (which has the beautiful beech trees of Fangorn Forest. And no, I did not see the exact location, we are close but had to take a picture without really being near or knowing exactly where to look. In my opinion, any of the sights we do see could work for the locations.
At Te Anau (LOTR film locations are here but I don't know where) we are paralleling Lake Te Anau. It is a very large lake and eventually come to our last town, Te Anau Downs, before reaching the Fiordland National Park.
Before long we are making a pit stop. Only this stop in at a view point looking back through Eglington Valley. Wat a sight. The vista here is simply fantastic. I know I use that description liberally, but I can not think of any other word that might express the same visual aspect of these lands and mountains. And as I've mentioned on other occasions, the pictures do not do the true visuals justice. (For some reason, most of these pictures are somewhat out of focus. But it is still overcast and the cloud cover is making it difficult for the camera to focus.)
The bus makes a stop at Mirror Lake which is a small pond really. When the sun is out (and it has not done so so far) you can get good mirrored pictures of the mountains from the pond. However, because of the wind and cloud cover, the only thing really working in the Mirror Lake is a sign with the words "Mirror Lake" upside down so it reads correctly on the pond. The Eglington Valley and Mirror Lake are part of the South New Zealand World Heritage Area.
Next we stop at Monkey River and almost everyone gets water form the river to drink (I know what some of you are thinking, but no comments please). After filling up an empty water bottle, I taste the water. It is quite good and as indicated it should have lots of good minerals and is pure - well it looks like water and tastes like water and it is running in a river (stream really) and the water tastes good. What more could you ask for? The bus continues though the National Park and we climb to the Homer Tunnel that will take us through the mountains. 
This tunnel is over a kilometer long and was dug by 6 people, supposedly without machinery. We stop just before going into the tunnel for a view of the mountains and waterfall at the tunnel entrance. What can I say: breathtaking.
This tunnel is over a kilometer long and was dug by 6 people, supposedly without machinery. We stop just before going into the tunnel for a view of the mountains and waterfall at the tunnel entrance. What can I say: breathtaking. 
We have to wait at the tunnel for a green light, since the traffic is one way only. When we get to the other side, the valley opens up to a place called "The Chasm". Wow. Reminds me of one of the passes we crossed in Switzerland with the roads cutting back and forth to go up and down. You can see for a long way and the road weaving back and forth. It is a fantastic view.We continue down from the top of the Chasm and shortly arrive at Milford sound. The sun has come out since passing through the tunnel and it looks like the weather will be good for the boat ride. We make it through the terminal and head out to the dock.
On the docks we have a preview of what we will see. The mountains are almost vertical and the water is really blue.We get on the boat and I eat my lunch very quickly because we are told that just as we leave there is a waterfall on our right. 
Carmen and I go up on the top deck of the boat (which is opened) and true to the information the waterfall is in view almost as soon as the boat gets out of the dock and turned around. It is pretty tall and there is a lot of water coming down. (There was some rain overnight and we are all hoping the the waterfalls will be spectacular.) We head out the fiord and will eventually be out on the Tasman Sea. 
The mountains on both sides of the fiord are really very vertical and high. Also, on one of the mountains there is snow (maybe a small glacier). The ride out of the fiord presents another waterfall on the far side of the fiord (we are on the left side of on the way out and will eventually be on the other side on the way back).
Carmen and I go up on the top deck of the boat (which is opened) and true to the information the waterfall is in view almost as soon as the boat gets out of the dock and turned around. It is pretty tall and there is a lot of water coming down. (There was some rain overnight and we are all hoping the the waterfalls will be spectacular.) We head out the fiord and will eventually be out on the Tasman Sea. 
The mountains on both sides of the fiord are really very vertical and high. Also, on one of the mountains there is snow (maybe a small glacier). The ride out of the fiord presents another waterfall on the far side of the fiord (we are on the left side of on the way out and will eventually be on the other side on the way back).
As we are on our way back in, we pass a number of seals on a rock and playing in the water. Then further, we come to the second falls on our way out. 
It is really high and there is a lot of water coming down. The waterfall is also coming down the vertical cliff hitting the rocks on the way down then directly into the water. The boat captain brings the bow of the boat right up to the edge of the waterfall and you can fell the power of the falling water. It is difficult to take pictures as the water spray is getting on the lens, 
But I get a picture of Carmen anyway.We return the rest of the way back into the fiord and after passing the first waterfall again, dock. Everyone is trying to get off the boat early so we can be one of the first buses to leave. This will help to get back on time and not be delayed behind slow moving buses. There is no other way to return to the hotel but to drive back along the same route we drove here this morning. That just means I get to take more pictures of the same great vistas I wasn't able to get earlier.
We return to the hotel sometime around 6:30PM and everyone is meeting in the lobby for some drinks (Jon I had a Speight's Gold Medal Ale) and then a farewell dinner. (The group that was together will split up for the Australia portion of the trip. Some are going on the shorter trip (like us) while others on a longer trip to include Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock).I know these postings are really late. By the time we get back to the hotel and I load the pictures and start writing the blog information it is late. Also, there is no "free" Internet anywhere; you have to pay for it and it is pretty expensive. I have to buy a twenty minutes to get everything loaded and spell checked. Oh well, the daily information will just be late that's all. Until later.
G'day Mates!
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