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25/04/06 - 26/04/06 -
ARRIVING IN QUEENSTOWN & MILFORD SOUNDS
We arrived in Queenstown mid afternoon, it was pouring with rain and we couldn't see any of the scenery. Doesn't matter, I'll have plenty of time to enjoy it. Everyone on the bus had a group photo taken and then we met up later to get drunk - really drunk. Queenstown is a small compact town but it has over 50 bars and clubs! We all went for a meal, then Andy our driver sorted us out with free drinks. One bar we went to we just had to say a password to get a free pint, until the keg ran out. Managed to get a few pints out of that!
I got to bed about 2am, and had to get up 4 hours later to head to Milford Sounds! Most of the people on our bus had booked the Kiwi Experience day trip to Milford Sounds. Milford Sounds is often described as the Eighth Wonder of the World. When I first saw pictures of it I thought it was a lake up in the mountains, but the water is actually the sea! Milford Sounds is a fiord created by glacier, and the water is enclosed by mountains coming straight out of the sea.
The drive there takes a few hours, and it was raining the whole way there. However, once we arrived at Milford Sounds the clouds parted and it was a beautiful day - we were SO lucky!
Once you get out on the boat you really begin to appreciate how amazing the place it is - it was breath taking, simply stunning. You are surrounded by these huge mountain walls that come out of the water and go up to nearly 2000 metres high! It definitely deserves its name as the Eighth Wonder of the World. There are waterfalls coming down from the mountains into the water and seals lying around on the rocks. On other days you can see dolphins and sometimes even whales in the water.
The boat went all the way out to the edge of Tazman sea before turning back into the fiord. The wind was so strong in places, the boat even went underneath one waterfall, I got soaked! Some people sat inside but I spent the entire journey on the top deck just taking it all in. It was definitely worth the long drive and something I will always remember.
Next: Welcome To Middle-Earth!
Previous: The Kiwi Experience: The Road To Queenstown
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