MILFORD SOUND

Totara camp site was lovely. Got the washing dry then happily listened to rain on the roof most of the night. Walked into Lake Mistletoe..... pretty but not overly so. The Mirror Lakes were also lovely but oh my word......THE P E O P LE! SO MANY PEOPLE! Back to the lakes.... there was a breeze so they were rippled but still managed to get some good pics. David wondered about the potential for a duck pond and maimai there! We did the Lake Gun Walk....absolutely gorgeous! The trees, lichen, moss, birds etc were so beautiful. Lake Gun was much bigger than I thought it would be and we had the track to ourselves. Cascade Creek camp was calling so we registered and had a good night wandering around the huge site. We think around 50acres. We counted around 160 camper vans/MH/ tents and a single caravan. The very pretty river was full of didymo. Such a shame. The following day we had intended to walk the Key Summit track but when we got to the parking area we decided against it. Honestly I can't believe just how many people were there.... far too many to allow the space and solitude that tracks like this deserve. May be the middle of winter is the right time for us Kiwis! The Marian Falls walk was gorgeous. We loved it. A short walk but so worth doing. Deer Flat Campsite offers great fishing with parking right beside the river. Very picturesque. Found Murray Guns Camp which had closed for a while for repairs etc. It looks like a huge weather event/ flood has devastated the area. The Chasm was disappointing. I was so looking forward to being with David as he saw it for the first time. I had wonderful memories of this but after a short walk found, as did ALL the other visitors, that it was gated off with no access to the viewing platform. Such a bummer. However, overall the road into Milford was spectacular. The majestic views, the incredible rock faces and towering mountains, the tunnel, the waterfalls etc were all amazing. The road is in great repair and all bar one driver drove well and must have had angels on his shoulders....... such a close call! Not sure if it still applies but the Milford Road had the worst accident rate of any NZ road for quite some time. Once at Milford we walked against the sea of tourists to the visitor center and loved the quick catch with David's cousin, Dean Gibb, who skippers the Milford Mariner. David reminisced as he drove around and pointed out the White House which is now brown but was brand new when he and the lads made far too many memories while on a couple of fishing trips a number of years ago. The drive back to Te Anau was uneventful but gosh it really is so easy to understand why so so many tourists flock to this stunning part of NZ. We'll revisit this area again to stay at another couple of campsites that are gorgeous. Enjoy the pics.Baca lagi