Milford Sound & Mount Cook

On Wednesday, we started the day relaxed.. slept in a bit, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, used the internet to plan more stops/accommodations (especially for Thailand), had some coffee, and then set off for the Fjordlands to Milford Sound before noon. The first stop was Lake Te Anau, where we spent the afternoon and also the evening and night at a nearby campground. Wonderful.. a calm clear lake with a beautiful mountain panorama.. that's how you imagine New Zealand and the Fjordlands. Absolutely fantastic!

On the following Thursday, after breakfast and another stop at Lake Te Anau, we leisurely hit the road to Milford Sound. The journey itself was already wonderful: past Mirror Lakes, great viewpoints, beautiful mountain panoramas, we finally arrived at a stunning campground.. in a small grove next to a stream, surrounded by mountains with small waterfalls cascading down. Fantastic! The walk in the afternoon (including a game of Yahtzee with a view) along Milford Sound already gave us a great impression of the boat tour that would take place the next day..

Since the boat was only scheduled to depart on Friday afternoon, Nadia found a hiking tour for us in the morning.. about 3 hours round trip, every second of which was worth it. Initially, it was a leisurely hike along a mountain river, but then it quickly became quite strenuous: 1.5 hours uphill, over rocks and stones, through bushes, over trees, and rocks.. but it was just as much fun. And when we finally reached this crystal clear mountain lake, all exhaustion was forgotten. Flo immediately undressed and jumped into the (admittedly very) chilly water. A dream come true! Absolutely beautiful! After a little picnic, sunbathing, and a photo session, we returned to make sure not to miss the boat tour. It was really nice.. many small waterfalls (and two big ones), surrounded by mountains, passing many small resting seals and leisurely swimming dolphins, we were back on land after 1.5 hours, from where we made our way to Queensland.

Just before Queensland, we camped wild at a lake where we saw a wonderful sunset before checking out Queenstown the next morning.. lie by the water, Flo threw stones (as he always does when we are somewhere near water;), stroll through town, of course ate a Fergburger (which truly lives up to its reputation:) and then drove on towards Mount Cook. No bungee jumping, no speedboat tours, no other wild activities. 😉 Wild camping at a lake (which had to serve as a shower replacement that evening, but was still as clear as before;) with a view of Mount Cook was great. We really liked it there, especially the starry sky at night, amazing. 👌

The 3-hour hike to Mount Cook on Sunday morning was beautiful, but the large Lake Pukaki on the way there, where we made another stop afterwards, was somehow cooler. Bathing in the crystal clear water with a view of Mount Cook and enjoying the sun.. it couldn't get any better. Flo had never seen water so clear before.. unbelievable! It was a dream come true!

Originally, we wanted to go to Lake Tekapo, but the only campground there was already full.. and since we wanted to take a proper shower again, we settled at a campground near Mount Cook, from where we will start to Tekapo today.