Te Anau-Milford Sound-Queenstown - Day 3 in New Zealand

26th January 2014

The alarm goes off at 6.30am and I pack my things again. It rained overnight, I didn't hear it but the clouds are hanging low outside and the parking lot is wet. I take a look around the corner to see if there is anything open on a Sunday at 8am in Te Anau that would have coffee, and I find a nice cafe that prepares a small breakfast consisting of a small bowl of cereal, one slice of toast, and a latte for a smooth $23.50. Since it doesn't look so great outside, I take my time to enjoy the small breakfast, write in my diary, and chat with Martina. It's already 10am when I check out of the hotel across the street and then start towards Milford Sound.

I've been thinking back and forth whether I should do this, as I still want to make it to Queenstown at least today, preferably to Wanaka. The drive to Milford Sound takes about 2 hours - without a photo stop (which is quite unrealistic). It's only 120 km, but the road is winding and hilly, and a sign at the entrance to the Fiordland National Park, before the road, says that you should really allow 2 hours. I will start with just the Homer Tunnel, because apparently Keas target the cars of tourists there. They are the only parrots in the world that live in the mountains above the snow line. They are smart and strangely love everything made of plastic or rubber, so they like to destroy windshield wipers and door rubbers in no time. I don't want my rental car to be a victim of that, maybe another tourist will be the lucky one...

The journey begins in drizzling rain and leads through a plain with hills on both sides. The Fiordland (with i, not with j) is one of the rainiest corners in the world with over 7m of rainfall per square meter per year. Soon, there is a raging river to the left of the road and of course a mountainous landscape and everywhere Tussock grass, which brings a reddish color to the landscape for miles.

The drive soon leads into a dense forest, the canopy of leaves is closed above me and it looks amazing. Then the road gets a bit steeper and you reach the first viewpoints. It says "Do not feed the Kea" there. But no Kea in sight. I continue driving, and a few kilometers further, hundreds of meters of waterfalls cascade down the slopes. Magnificent!

As the organized bus tours start in the morning in Queenstown or Te Anau and arrive in Milford Sound around 1pm, they occasionally pass me by, and I am grateful that I can stop wherever I want.

Before the Homer Tunnel, you always have to wait for a maximum of 7 minutes. I pull over to the right and haven't even turned off the engine when a Kea lands on my side mirror and looks into my car. As I get out, a bus full of Chinese people stops and they swarm my car, so that I can't even take any more photos myself. They pose in front of the driver's door and in front of the Kea, who is now sitting on the roof and while I would like to change a camera battery, but can't reach the door of my car, 20 Chinese people have taken posed souvenir photos.

The Keas are ingenious. At first, they are not shy and you can get very close with the camera. However, I'm not sure if they would target some plastic part of the camera. But when they get too close, they take off and you can see a beautiful orange underskirt under their green-gray outer feathers. As soon as a new car stops, that's what they inspect first. My car doesn't seem to taste good to them and they turn their attention to a yellow sports car. The people don't dare to get out, while the Kea neatly peels off a windshield wiper cover, but then loses it and I can save it for the car owner.

Sometimes they just sit on the road and watch the car from there, as if they need to inspect it first if it could taste good. After photographing the slopes behind me, I drive through the tunnel. It is single-lane and poorly lit and quite steep downwards.

On the other side, I suddenly find myself in a rainforest. Gigantic ferns, everything wet, and then the sun comes out. What luck and what a good decision to come here!! Right after the tunnel, it gets steep and windy in hairpin curves, but then the rainforest begins. If you stop and open the window, it's a cacophony of chirping cicadas. I cross the 45th parallel to the south and continue towards Milford Sound.

At half past one, about 3 hours after leaving Te Anau, I arrive and stop in the bright sun with a view of the bay, the mountains, and this world-famous view. Behind me, there are steep slopes that are completely wooded, while yesterday I was driving through mountains that were completely brown and quite barren. It's incredible how different it is here.

I walk around the bay to the harbor, but decide against a small boat tour because then I wouldn't be back until 3.30pm and I still have a lot of driving to do. On the other side of the bay, a small path through a forest starts towards the water, although it is currently low tide. In this tropical forest, millions of cicadas chirp and I capture one with my camera.

Bowen Falls

At the end of the small forest, the view opens up to the bay, the hills, and on the right to the Bowen Falls. I walk over rocks and shells to the water. Have I ever been so far away from home? When was the last time I felt so good?! The sun is shining, I am surrounded by a gigantic nature, and I have time. The bus tourists don't, they have to get back on their buses while I take photos of flowers here and there.

After it was 10 degrees in the morning, we have now reached 14 degrees and it's really warm in the sun. But as soon as you stand in an open area, a nasty wind blows and I'm glad I have my fleece jacket with me.

The landmark of Milford Sound is the Mitre Peak, which you can't overlook with its height of 1,692m. It is the highest mountain in the world that rises directly from the water.

I wonder how far we will be able to sail into this area with the big ship soon. The fjord is 15km long, so you will probably see a lot from the sea that I can't make out from the land right now.

With a heavy heart, I set off on the way back to Te Anau at 3.20pm, and I think to myself: who knows if I will really make it to Wanaka. But before I finish my thought, a kiwi crosses the road in front of my car!!! At first, I think it's a fur-animal with a long trunk, but it must be a kiwi, even though they usually only walk around at night. But here, the foliage is so dense that they might think it's night? The Keas in front of the entrance to the Homer Tunnel from the other side are so mean that I miss an entrance time and have to wait another 7 minutes - with a view of a gigantic mountain range, though.

The return journey is dry, but beyond the Homer Tunnel, the weather is worse than in Milford Sound. The tunnel, or rather the mountain above it, acts like a weather divide.

Before I leave the national park, there is suddenly a traffic jam. I am constantly in a convoy with the returning buses. As soon as you stop for a photo, you easily have 3-4 buses in front of you. But now the traffic jam is caused by a large flock of sheep. A great sight, and I'm even happier that I took this tour today. I have seen so much: Keas, Milford Sound, waterfalls, mega ferns, and now a flock of sheep around me.

In Te Anau, the sun is also shining, but I drive through, quickly get a coffee and fill up on gas, and continue east. I'm practically driving the same route as yesterday. Over Mossburn, it goes through a fertile plain with a great mountain backdrop, which you can see even better today than yesterday, then northwards. The mountains now look absolutely fantastic in the light from 5pm. I take more and more photos.

Sometimes I think to myself: OK, now you won't take a photo for 20 minutes, but I don't succeed in that.

At Kingston, I reach the southern foothills of Lake Wakatipu, which practically begins at Queenstown. A dramatically beautiful coastal road runs above the shore for about 40 km, which is particularly beautiful in the evening sun.

However, as soon as I leave the car, I get frostbite, it's only 10 degrees again, and a nasty wind blows over the mountains, bringing icy cold air with it. So I put on my fleece jacket in the sun and turn up the heating in the car.

Along Lake Wakatipu towards Queenstown

My stage for the day will end in Queenstown, as it is already 7pm and I don't feel like driving for another hour to Wanaka, which it is. I won't have any problems finding accommodation in Queenstown.

View from the hotel in Queenstown

I find a motel above the city center for $125. Expensive again, but better than the dive in Omarama, which was also expensive. The room is nice, new, has a small balcony, a well-equipped kitchen, and a very comfortable bed.

Since I haven't eaten anything during the day again, my first stop is for food. I decide to drive there because even though the steep road to the lake and city center is nice now, I don't want to walk up there in the dark later. It's already 8.30pm and I'm hungry. So off I go by car. I quickly find a parking space and walk to the harbor first, where there are beautiful views of the mountains around Lake Wakatipu in the setting sun.

Queenstown

Queenstown

Finding a nice and also affordable restaurant turns out to be difficult, however. There are many places, but I don't want to spend $40 for a steak, and the Chinese restaurant on the first floor looks like it only processes spoiled meat. In the end, I end up at a Thai restaurant and eat at around 9.30pm, and then I roll back to the car. The hotel has free and unlimited Wi-Fi. I download all the photos, chat with Martina, and upload photos to Facebook.

I finally get to bed at 1.30am and set the alarm generously for 7.30am.

Driving distance: 406 km