From Queenstown the next natural main tourist attraction is Fjordlands.
This is a huge national park covering the south western area of the south island. Within Fjordlands Milford sounds is the most popular attraction. It is a part of the ocean winding between high steep mountains to the little village of Milford. You can reach it with one day trips from Queenstown but then you have to spend like 6 hours in each direction driving or by bus. We had our base in the beautiful town Te Anau located on the bank of the big Te Anau lake. From there we joined a tour bus to Milford Sounds. The drive in itself is about two hours but we did many stops at beautiful attractions along the way that we would have missed if we drove ourselfves so it was definitely worth it. We also had a very experienced and funny guide. So in the end it was a full day trip with lot of amazing nature to see. To the right you see one of the big waterfalls gushing into the sound.
Only thing is that if you have been to Norway and seen the Norwegian fjords New Zealand is actually still a light version. Still well worth the trip though.
Outside Te Anau there is also a big cave with glow worms that we of course visited. A cool experience starting with a boat ride over the lake and then walking narrow paths some hundred meters into the cave where small boats took in total darkness took us to the glow worms. A must do if you're in the area.
So what more is there to say about Te Anau? Yes they have a pie shop with really good pies. I had the venison pie and that was actually the first meat pie that I have really enjoyed!
After two nights in Te Anau it was time to head north again and next stop was in beautiful Wanaka. Wanaka was like Queenstown crowded with backpackers. It seemed to be a partytown this time of year whereas it definitely is a ski resort in the winter. You could tell from the shops.
Main restaurant street, Wanaka
After Wanaka the trip continued to the Glaziers on the west coasts. More about that in next post.
Cheers
Lake Te Anau
Lake Wanaka (The water is really cold brrr)
Lumsden eventually became the most southern spot where we put down our feet
The famous seals living in Milford Sound
The Kea birds are not shy
In Te Anau even a parking lot can be beautiful
One of many streams on the way to Milford
Another nice spot in the Fjordlands
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