New Zealand 4–Lauren (leaving Milford)

We spent a lovely 2 nights in Milford Sound. It was very wet, with heavy rain and wind making it a little hard to sleep the first night. But most of the time it was just a steady light rain, and we learned that the hundreds of waterfalls we saw disappear hours after the rain ends. It was a gift to be in such a lovely place. We used the time to talk to family and do some planning for Nepal. We also decided to eat dinner at the fancy restaurant there.

This morning we took a cruise tour of the sound—we learned that it’s really a fiord (glacier made instead of river made). We went all the way out to where it meets the Tasman Sea. It was longer than I thought. I saw a little black head bobbing in the water, and I thought it was a duck, but it was a penguin! A Fiordland penguin—he wasn’t very big, maybe a foot long. It made my day!

After the cruise, we drove back through the road that had been closed. Rivers were gushing with all the fresh rainwater, and we saw a rainbow. They are hard to get on camera—especially while driving, but this was one the 3rd so far on our trip. A kea bird said hello to us while we waited to drive through the tunnel leaving Milford. They are curious alpine parrots with red feathers under their wings.

We stopped for a yummy lunch of bao buns and edamame in Te Anau, and then drove to Christchurch. About 4 hours total driving today. We plan to stay here two nights and hope to do some hiking. Tomorrow should be sunny.もっと詳しく