Milford Sound

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Milford Sound claims to be the 8th wonder of the world.  Evidently, many places make that claim, but I can surely see why the folks in Milford Sound feel that way!

We take an amazing tour with Southern Discoveries Tour.  We hop on a bus in Queenstown (that has a glass roof, bathroom, and reclining seats).  It takes 6 hours to drive the 291k to Milford Sound with several stops along the way for photo opportunities, bathroom breaks, and snacks.  We then board a boat and take a cruise of Milford Sound by sea, and then back on the bus for a 5 hour return to Queenstown.  A very long day.  

We meet before dawn to load onto the bus with 43 other people.  Our driver, Brad was amazing.  He shared stories and the history of places along the way. A constant narrative with just enough humor to keep you interested. 

We had beautiful views along the way to Milford Sound with low clouds, fog, and mountains.

And the landscape keeps changing.

Mirror Lakes

On the way, we stop the iconic Mirror Lakes which were absolutely stunning!  I think this is what Lake Matheson would have been like had we been there on a sunny day.

I asked as stranger to take our photo and unfortunately she didn’t capture the mirror lakes behind us.  But it still is a pretty picture.

This view certainly takes your breath away.

Pride of Milford Sound

After almost 6 hours in the bus we finally arrive in Milford Sound.  We move from our bus to our boat, the Pride of Milford.  This boat must hold well over 500 people.  You get in the buffet line immediately upon boarding.  Food wasn’t terrible for a buffet but it was a true buffet.

The very first thing we see as we leave the dock is the beautiful Bowen Falls.  It is a very powerful waterfall that was stunning thing to see.

It is a quick trip out to the Tasman sea and then past another spectacular waterfall called the Sterling Waterfall.

The Sterling Waterfall is beautiful and even more so when you are up close and personal.  The captain nosed the boat close enough to the falls to feel the spray on our face.  Ignore the label on the bottom of the photo as this is the Sterling Falls (not the Bowen Falls).

A Plane Ride Home

We decided to take a flight home rather than sit in the bus for another 5 hours.  We hopped in a GA8 Airvan that showed us around Milford Sound from the sky.  Oh my goodness, I highly recommend seeing Milford Sound by air as it is far more impressive than by sea!

There are so many lakes, rivers, and waterfalls.

After about 45 minutes, we arrive back in Queenstown and get a pretty view of this lake side town from the air.

An absolutely spectacular day in Milford Sound.

  • Kilometers Traveled:  0 Arrived the day before
  • Hotel: Whistler Holiday Apts.
  • Total Traveled: 291km by bus, 20km by boat, 310km by airplane
  • Kilometers Walked: 5.4 (on a bus and boat most of the day)

Events from this blog occurred in early March.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind live events.  Be sure to read about our escapades in Queenstown in our last blog.

Queenstown

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Queenstown is the adventure capital of the world and yet we find a bunch of other activities to fill our day!  We are not total thrill seekers so we skipped the bungee jump, skydive, zorbing, and other crazy ridiculous life threatening activities.  We did go on a jet boat ride, hung out in an ice bar, and enjoyed a fabulous gondola to the top of Queenstown.

Skyline Queenstown

We arrive into Queenstown on a cloudy rainy day, but nothing that would stop us from exploring.  We start our day with the Skyline Gondola ride to the top of the mountain overlooking Queenstown.  It is a cold day so we are bundled up!  Each car takes 4 people or 2 people and 2 bikes.  You can ride up the gondola and take a mountain bike trail down or a luge down.

We hop on the gondola car and enjoy a leisurely ride up the mountain.  Unfortunately, it was still a cloudy, drizzly day once we got to the top so our views weren’t spectacular, but they were still very pretty.

We had planned to luge down the mountain, but the cold and rain made that a very unpleasant option so we just enjoyed a nice leisurely ride back down the mountain in the gondola.

Fergbruger

One of the best burgers in town can be found at Fergburger!  It is so popular that you are guaranteed to wait in line for at least an hour just to place your order.  But, it is soooo worth the wait!  This was truly one of the best burgers we have ever had – even better than In N out!  Yummmy, highly recommend it if you visit Queenstown!

Shotover Jet Boat Rides

Our first adventures in Queenstown is a jet boat ride with Shotover Jet Boats.   We start out with a few photo opps just because we could…

We get suited up in our life jackets, stowed our hats, and jumped in the flatbottom boat.  Our driver Peter gives us the safety protocols and we are off down Shotover river which is exclusively dedicated to Shotover boats.  The landscape is wall to wall pristine beauty and canyon action.

I’ve never been on such a thrilling ride in my life. We were inches away rocks, boulders, branches, and canyon walls.  It was exhilarating, frightening, and completely amazing!

These boats reach top speeds of 90 kilometers an hour and can fly over water in depths as shallow as 2″!  The drivers train for 8-10 weeks before they are allowed on the river.

Peter, our expert driver puts the Jet Boat through its paces, riding the rapids and performing thrilling, gravity-defying stunts within a hair’s breadth of the awe-inspiring cliff faces.

We did dozens of 360s, zipped up and down the river, and screamed loads of joy for 35 minutes!  One of the best rides of my life!  They give 1100 people trips per day with each driver making 12 trips evert day!

The Ice Bar

For some reason, they have several ice bars in Queenstown and I had to go to one!  We decided to go to Minus 5 Ice bar which is right on the wharf.  Not really sure why I insisted on going to an ice bar when it was already 15C outside (which is pretty darn cold).  But, I had to go!  They provided us with cozy warm jackets, gloves, hats and special rules for being in the ice bar.

The ice bar  is made of solid ice and the temperature is -9C!  The walls, the bar, the furniture and even the glasses are all made of ice!  They even have a half dozen ice sculptures around the bar.  Ice makes up the solid bar and benches for seating.

They have amazing sculptures throughout the bar.  Artists touch up the sculptures every 3 months and replace them every 9-10 months.  Every 45 minutes the staff rotate in and out of the ice bar so they do not have to endure the cold for too long.

The drinks are delicious and served in pure ice glasses.  You pre-pay for your drinks and we paid for 2 each.  We drank rather quickly as it was freakin cold in there!

We had a fabulous 45 minutes inside before we decided to get out and warm up!  Matt wore flip flops (or jandals as they are called here) inside the ice bar!

We stepped in next door to the Public Kitchen Bar where they had the most tasty desert cocktails.

Recap of the Day:

All in all it was a spectacular day with a gondola ride, jet boat ride, and a trip to the every so cool ice bar!

  • Kilometers Traveled: 70km
  • Hotel:  Whistler Apartments
  • Kilometers Walked:  8.3km

Events from this blog occurred in early March.  Our blog posts are 10-12 weeks behind actual events.  e are puzzled at Puzzling World and make a stop at the Transport and Toy Museum during our last blog – check it out.

Wanaka’s Puzzling World and Transport Museum

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Onward to Wanaka!  We depart Franz Josef and head toward Otago which is about 2.5 hours south.  We will eventually make our way to Wanaka where we hope to play in the Puzzling World and at the Transport & Toy Museum.

On the way to Otago we pass a lovely lookout called Thunder Creek Falls right off Hwy 6. It was a short 15 minute walk to the falls and we were rewarded with a spectacular waterfall!

We continue on southward and make a quick stop at Otago Blue Pools near Mount Aspiring.  These waters are a brilliant blue and crystal clear.  It is a very popular spot even after the 45minute hike to get there.

The mountains and lakes were stunning .

Wanaka

We finally arrive to Wanaka and go straight to the Transport and Toy Museum.  This is one man’s collection over the course of 50 years.  There are over 600 cars, 20 aircrafts and 60,000 toys and miscellaneous items spread over 4 buildings.  

Truth be told, there were many brilliant vehicles, motorcycles, airplanes, and toys but they are jammed on top of each other making it look more like a junk store than a museum.  It is rather unfortunate and super sad to see such beautiful antiques in such a poor state.  The cars, trucks, and planes are all in poor condition.

Puzzling World

After a few hours we head out to the Puzzling World.  We sign up for the combo pack which includes the Illusion Room and the Great Maze.  Starting off in the illusion room where there are 5 parts:  the hologram room, the Titled House, the Hall of Following Faces, the Ame’s Illusion Room and the Sculptillision Gallery.

Unfortunately holograms don’t come across well in photographs so no photos for you.  Next we step into the Tilted House.  Immediately I feel weird, confused, and am having a challenging time walking!  And the rooms are only tilted 15 degrees!

We move into the Hall of Following Faces.  Super creepy to be followed wherever you go, but also really cool.

The Ame’s Illusion Room perplexed us all and we had a great time solving the challenges.  I love the bathroom floor (lower left corner).

The sculpture room had wonderful illusions including the endless water spout, the floating ball, and the floating bench.

This super cool room looks “normal” from the outside, but once you get inside you notice that one side is short and the other side is tall. Another cool piece of illusion where it looks like plain ole stripes if you are in front of it or Einstein if you look at it from the side.

The Great Maze

The great maze is superb and huge!  It is designed to be achievable before total desperation sets in.  Typically it takes 30-60 minutes to complete.  Your goal is to get to each of the four corner towers.  The correct path is about 1/3 km but most people take 3-5km to complete the maze.  Yep, we all got lost but had fun faking it.

Super fun day playing in Wanaka!  I think I will rename this town the playful town of the country.

  • Hotel: Golf Course Road Chalets
  • Kilometers traveled:  271km
  • Time traveled:  4 hours
  • Kilometers Walked: 8.4km

Events from this blog occurred in early March.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind live events.  Don’t miss our helicopter ride over the Franz Josef glaciers in our last blog.