Saturday 19th July
I was up at 06.00 for an early start to a long day trip to Milford Sound. The trip was included in the price of my Magic Bus ticket, and was worth about NZD130 if I had paid for it separately. It was going to be a long day, but Milford Sound is one of the 'must-sees' out of what are many in New Zealand. Before I left, I met Anna, yet another German, who was booked on the same tour and we walked down together to get the bus.
The bus set off at 07.15 and we made our way out of Queenstown and towards the town of Te Anau, the gateway to Milford Sound, on a grey and dreary morning. We stopped at a few spots to take some photos and at Te Anau for a coffee break. It didn't seem like there was much to do there, despite the fact that it is a popular place for people to stay overnight on the way to and from Milford Sound.
We finally arrived at the port in Milford Sound and 12.45 and boarded the cruise boat and left for our trip shortly after. It was a decent sized boat, and we were given a sandwich and as much tea and coffee as we could drink. The rain continued to pour down, not surprising given the fact that the average annual rainfall is between seven and eight metres, making it one of the wettest places on earth. Nevertheless, we got out on deck and braved the winds and showers and it was clearly a beautiful place. We turned back when we had reached the opening onto the Tasman Sea, saw some seals and waterfalls on the way back and got back to the dock about two hours after we had set off.
We got straight back on the bus and arrived into Queenstown at 19.00. It had been a good enough day, if not spectacular. I met Mark and we went to the famous 'Ferg Burger' restaurant. Everyone I had met who had been to Queenstown had raved about the hamburgers and was a bit sceptical about it myself (usually the reality doesn't live up to the hype). However, it was one of the best burgers I have tasted, so everyone was right. We went to see 'Get Smart', which had a few laughs in it, but nothing special. I was knackered after a long day and went back to the hostel and crashed out.
