Iconic Milford Sound

We stayed the night at Gunn Camp. Our little tiny cabin was basic; all the cabins in the camp were used by people who built the road down this part of NZ and now they’re part of a cool campsite. The generator was switched on around 7am. Staying in our cabin provided us with a decent mattress, but the walls were so patched up that it retained no heat. The morning was so cold, you could see your breath in the air.

After breakfast, we made our packed lunches for the day and boarded the bus.

Twenty minutes down the road, we stopped at The Chasm. It’s a 20-minute loop walk through the forest to the river. The stones have been shaped by water over many years and the river flows through the holes. The colour further down is a deep blue-green.

We drove on to Milford Sound – one of New Zealand’s most famous sights and one who is truly worthy of the word ‘iconic’ according to Lonely Planet.

Our boarding cards for our 90 mins cruise around Milford Sound came with a free muffin voucher; not sure why. Once on board, we headed straight to the top deck and marvelled at the views. It’s definitely one of these sites that make you feel insignificant as human beings. Planes, helicopters, cruise boats and humans pale into insignificance. We saw a variety of rock formations, snow-capped peaks, many waterfalls and some fur seals. The time went quickly and all too soon, we were back on the bus. Thankfully, we’ll have another go in a few weeks. Andy was saying that from a landscape photography point of view, he would have been happy with rain and clouds. I disagree. The sun provided a tiny bit of warmth in what was a cold afternoon.

Three people on the group were then dropped off at the start of the Routeburn track – a two-day walk to Queenstown. The rest of the group were encouraged to walk up to Key Summit – the first hour of the Routeburn walk. The return journey is advertised as taking three hours; we were given two hours. I opted out of the walk as it’s a steep incline and my knee is still sore. I stayed in the bus, made myself comfy and watched a film. On his return, Andy said that I had made the right decision as it would have been too tough on my injury. He enjoyed the views from the top, but added that the walk had been hard.

Back in Te Anau, we checked into our cabin (very nice) and met up with another couple for drinks and dinner. They were celebrating their first anniversary and had kindly asked us to join them for the evening. We went to a bar for a glass of wine first and then crossed the road to The Fat Duck. Te Anau is not blessed with great places to eat. The town only exists because of tourism. Our walk back to camp – all the way across town – was deserted.