We woke up to find that it was still raining in Milford Sound. This was a disappointment, because the sound is known for reflecting Mitre Peak in its waters (above, I stole that picture online). The rain meant no reflections for us, so here’s my version of that picture (above).
However, the rain made hundreds of temporary waterfalls spring up everywhere I looked (above). They dry up when the rain goes away, so we were lucky to see them. The captain, whose quarters we visited (above), took us out of the sound into the Tasman Sea. This was really fun, as the waves made the boat bob up and down when they crashed over the bow (above). We started jumping up at the crest of the wave so that we’d get extra hang time as the boat disappeared below us. Mary and Brittany pretended to hold on for dear life (above), as we all got quite wet from the rain (above).
Then we came back in from the ocean to take a closer look at the sound. We saw evidence of a tree avalanche (above). This happens because the only way trees can survive on a mountain face is to network their branches together, so when one dies, it takes out all of the trees below it as it falls down. The boat went really close to a waterfall (above), and we were having a grand old time (above). Then, the captain thought he would be funny. We approached another permanent waterfall (above), expecting that we would get close to the fall like we had with the other one. No. Instead, we went into the waterfall, as in the fall was crashing on the bow of the boat. We tried to stick it out (above, right before we got demolished), but there was just too much water. We bailed, but only after we had gotten 100% soaked. The only pair of pants I had with me that was dry was my pajamas, so I spent the rest of the cruise sporting my purple cookie monster pajama pants. Yeah.
We left the boat and drove out of Fiordland, not before making a few photo stops. First we stopped right before we drove through a long tunnel, where I was able to get some non-rainy pictures of Fiordland (above). Then we went to “The Chasm,” a deep gorge that was formed when the rock separated and split into two (above). It was in a very wet rainforesty area (above). After that we visited Mirror Lakes, a very small pond that was reflective (above). Not quite the reflection that I was hoping for.
We arrived into Queenstown in late afternoon. The town itself is very small, but it is known as the “Adventure Capital of the World” due to all of the activities it offers that can possibly kill you. But more on that later.
At night we went to Minus 5, an ice bar. Basically it was a small room that was made entirely out of ice, from the walls, to the furniture, to the bar (above). They give you parkas to keep you warm (above), and they served your drinks in glasses made of ice (above). Of course, there were various ice sculptures, such as this dragon that changed colors (above). I went to bed trying to mentally prepare myself for the day ahead.
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