We got up around 7am, packed up and drove, once again, to the Milford Sound. It was going to be a perfect sunny day for a fjord cruise. We were a bit early so we picked up coffee and a small breakfast. The boardwalk to the cruise terminal went around a small lagoon and gave impressive views of the water and mountains. We situated our tickets and boarded the boat. They served a small quiche for brunch and then we made our way up top to the viewing deck. I was so grateful we had good weather for the trip.
The Sound was just beautiful. We first saw a single seal and a pretty waterfall. The captain eased the boat right up to the falls so everyone could get a good picture. He did warn people that if they wanted to stay dry, they shouldn't be on the decks. Ryan, with the GoPro in hand, went down to the lower deck and got some good pics but also a cold shower. We cruised on and saw a couple porpoises. The boat turned around an hour later as the Sound met the Tasman Sea.
On the way back, we saw a couple more seals as well as two yellow crested penguins. They were so adorable as they waddled and dove into the water. We were both happy to have finally seen some. The captain took us up to another waterfall and this time, the wind caused the water to spray all over. I was on the upper deck and got pretty soaked as Ryan was on the lower deck again and did also.
We made it back into the harbor, got off the boat and walked around taking pictures at the different lookouts in the Sound. It was just so gorgeous!! We eventually left and drove back towards Te Anua. I was driving and became sleepy so we pulled over to make coffee. A Kea hopped on the car's roof again and poked its head down into my window, looking for a snack. As we made coffee and checked out the river, it hung out with us for almost a half hour. We continued on back to Queenstown and enjoyed the beautiful drive around the west side of the lake.
Ryan shopped for shirts at a local store and I called my parents. We then went to dinner on the water front at a seafood place called Finz. I got a salad and Ryan ordered seafood spaghetti. Instead of getting dessert at the restaurant, we went to a local bakery and ordered about four items. Yum. All the holiday parks were about closed so our only option to camp was to drive twenty minutes out of town to a DOC campsite. So we made camp and went to bed.
