Milford Sound

So this morning's call was good news and we were on for the Milford Flight, leaving at 11 once the fog had cleared a little, so had to be at Wanaka airport for 10.30. Ed was still keen on mini golf at some point so I checked the opening times and found a place called Take a Shot right opposite the airport that opened at 9, so we headed straight there.

It was open, but unsurprisingly no0one else was there. The course was a good one with long holes. Ed managed to lose a ball, but still ended up winning by a couple of shots from Tash, with Sam third and me last. We finished about 19.29 and drove over the road to the airport and checked in for our flight (basically we paid) then headed over to the diner style cafe across the car park and had coffee and toasties. Ed bought a model plane and got a free poster and we headed off to the plane. Our pilot Nick put me in the front seat with him, with Ed at the back (he needed small people at the back to aid take off). The plane was a small single prop, with every one getting a window seat. We took off smoothly and flew across great scenery of snow capped mountains and lakes, photo opportunities galore. after about 40 minutes we reached the coast and turned into Milford Sound and flew along the length of it to land on the small airstrip.

A 2 minute bus trip took us to the boat terminal where we got our tickets for the Mitre Peak Cruise boat. The boat was one of the smaller ones and wasn't too crowded. We had booked a packed lunch so ate that sitting downstairs until the boat started, then moved to the upper outside deck to take in the views. They were brilliant and because it had rained last night all the waterfalls were flowing, but we were in bright sunshine with blue skies, pretty much the perfect conditions. Most of the waterfalls created small rainbows in the sunshine. The boat went right out to the end of the Sound and just into the Tasman Sea, where it got a bit bouncy to the lids delight.

On the way back the boat stopped and pulled close to some baby seals (Ed reckons some were sea lions) on rocks. Tash was very pleased to see real live wild seals. Further along we stopped at Stirling Falls and the boat went right up to the falls, covering us in spray - great fun. Last falls near the terminal were the Sutherland Falls, again spectacular and permanent rather than rain fed.

We docked again and reversed the journey, this time flying part way up the sound after take off before turning and heading in land. The trip was a bit further south , coming across just north of Glenorchy and the Remarkables range around Queenstown and coming in round the back of Treble Cone and across the lake to the airport. We landed back just after 3 - a great few hours.

From there we went straight to Puzzling World, full of optical illusions. One room was set at an angle so items appeared to be moving uphill (water, snooker balls and even a sliding chair you could sit on. It made you feel a bit sick as it confused your mind. Another room was full of concave faces of famous people which appeared to move and follow you around the room as you passed by. Yet another was angled =, but didn't appear so when viewed from outside so people in one corner looked much taller than those in the opposite corner.

After a few more odd illusions we left the inside area and entered the outside maze. This was huge and included 4 or 5 sets of stairs. The idea was to visit each of the coloured huts in each corner then leave. The kids went off and claimed to have completed this quicker than Sam and I but we are suspicious they may have cut some corners. We used thr trusted technique of following the left hand wall and reached each coloiur anf the exit about 10 minutes or so after the kids.

Went straight for food in Speights again - all very hungry after a full day.

Ed's favourite was Puzzling World, though he liked the boat ride but wasn't so keen on the plane part - not so appreciative of the views. The rest of us loved Mil=ford and the flights, but Puzzling World was lots of fun too.

Drive to Oamaru to see the Blue Penguin Colony tomorrow.Read more