New Zealand Explorer Motorhome Tour - Days 29-30
We left Queenstown on Highway 6 which took us past The Remarkables mountain range and hugged Lake Wakatipu before passing through flat fields of sheep and cattle.
At Te Anau we got settled into our pitch overlooking the lake and then strolled around the park admiring the floral show and thoroughly enjoying the novelty of experiencing our second Spring of the year.
The coach that collected our group for the Milford Sound cruise had huge glass sections in the roof and the seats were subtly tiered and angled making it an ideal viewing platform for the pretty 121km journey to Milford Sound. Along the way our driver pointed out sights of interest on the World Heritage Highway status road and we were glad to be chauffeur driven through the steep 1200m single lane Homer Tunnel. It was interesting to learn that the gorse that has been a vibrant yellow splash of colour over most of the country was brought over by the early European settlers for use as a hedging plant and it is now considered an invasive nuisance.
On the cruise of Milford Sound we were provided with a packed lunch and the boat gave plenty of options to view the scenery from either inside or on deck. The Captain got us up close to bottlenose dolphins and cut the engines so we could appreciate Fjordland crested penguins and fur seals without disturbing them. The boat was also taken close to beautiful waterfalls where we saw double rainbows and we dodged the spray when our mischievous Captain gave us an up close photo opportunity of the tumbling water.