South Island - Milford Sound

It was a challenging time for me for the first day. We rented a manual car and the last time I drove one was when I just got my license like 8 to 9 years ago! There were a couple of instances when the car simply died on me in the middle of the street but bless the souls of those behind me who waited patiently while I tried to sort out my first gear.

The first night on the South Island was spent in Oamaru right after we drove to Lake Tekapo. Gorgeous sights of snow capped mountains cascading into still lakes.

Lake Tekapo. Blue clear waters, snow capped mountains and crisp fresh air.

Church of the Good Shepard, Lake Tekapo. You can imagine many weddings take place here.

The view from inside the church looking out to Lake Tekapo. Sigh, blue waters and snow capped mountains!

Oamaru is a quiet little town and the backpackers we stayed Swaggers was really cool. I loved the bathroom and spent a considerable amount of time there trying to bring the coldness out of my bones. The attraction there was to see blue penguins and yellow-eyed penguins returning home from the ocean. We didn't go as I've seen them in Philip Island, Victoria, Aust years ago and KS wasn't too keen as he wasn't able to touch them. Dinner was instant noodles, one entire head of broccoli and yummy fresh mushrooms.

The next day we went to visit Dunedin. Didn't have much time there just visited the only castle in NZ. Not worth it. A very sad place since the owner shot himself over family problems. And later, his son also shot himself. What a tragic history!

Stayed the night at Te Anau called Grumpy's, the most expensive backpackers of the whole trip. It was beside the Te Anau lake and had an en suite. Maybe that's why the price. Met this American there who took upon herself to be chatty and had told us where to go, what to do for the next couple of days. Bless her heart! We would have missed out the Blue Pools if it weren't for her!

Te Anau Lake. While waiting for the bus to take us to Milford Sound

So off we went to Milford Sound the next day. It was a beautiful bright sunny day and we could see hardly seen peaks of mountains. Milford Sound receives the most rain anywhere in the world of an average of 80m. The record was 90m over once and the amazing thing about this creation of God is that the whole area just soaks up all this water and runs it to the sea. Trickling streams will turn into gushing rivers and rivers will swell without flooding the area. Many breathtaking sights here although I was told that it would have been more spectacular if it were raining then I'd be able to see more waterfalls. Ah well, the bus guide/driver said we were lucky to be seeing Milford with clear skies.

A beautiful stream of melting ice along the way which I drank from. Ice cold and refreshing!

Waters so still that it's called Mirror Lake

Milford Sound

Sterling Waterfall, Milford Sound

The boat ride into the open sea was fantastic too although it's a little bit difficult for me to top my expectation of Milford anyway. So I was neither blown away nor too disappointed. Great trip and also highly recommended. Just don't let your expectations get too high and lose the exhilaration of viewing the gorgeous scenery there.