We drove 2 hours south from Queenstown along the shores of Lake Wakatipu before heading slightly west along flat plains and then 3 hours north from the town of Te Anua, situated by the large Lake Te Anua. The journey from Te Anua took us along the famous Milford Road, which is regarded as one of the most stunning Alpine scenery drives in the world and it didn't disappoint, even in the drizzly weather. 
Not long after starting our journey on the twisty narrow road we had to negotiate our way through a flock of around 500 sheep which had completely obstructed the road. We found the whole experience bizarre and very funny! Once safely through the sheep, we recovered from our laughter and continued with the drive. The scenery steadily became more and more dramatic as we drove through Beech Forest and towards the distant snow-capped mountains that eventually towered over us. The weather was fairly overcast and rainy but this made the mountains seem all the more moody and atmospheric. 
We stopped in at the 'Mirror Lakes' where the significant depth and darkness of the small lakes provides a mirroring effect on the mountains behind. From here we wound our way up the narrow gravelly road past many streams and waterfalls to the Homer Tunnel. The tunnel was carved 1.2km through the mountains and is only 3.6m high with virtually no lighting. The experience of driving through it was the automotive equivalent of driving through a drainpipe. As we exited the tunnel it was like entering a different world... the weather was clear and we had snow-covered mountains all around us which made everything so bright. The road down into Milford was narrow with lots of switchbacks. We stopped several times to take in the views and to take photos of a native 
Kea, the world's only Alpine parrot which we were lucky to spot by the roadside. These birds are remarkably intelligent and notorious for vandalising cars and sure enough the crafty little thing made a bee line for our car.... not wishing to lose our insurance deposit we dived back into the car and drove away quickly! On arrival into Milford Sound we took a short walk around the tiny waterfront for our first views of the sound. The Sound is a deep-water inlet from the Tasman Sea with calm water and mountains covered in temperate forest towering straight from the water's edge. 
It was a beautiful sight and we looked forward to our cruise the following day. We spent the night at the remote Milford Lodge which is the only place you can stay in Milford due to strict planning laws. The lodge was lovely and in the most beautiful and tranquil surroundings and even better, it was half empty.
On Wednesday morning we took an early morning boat cruise onto the Milford Sound. 
We had a beautiful clear morning and when we checked in we found out that there were only going to be 8 of us on a boat which was designed to carry 400 people! It was fantastic and made for a really special and personal trip. We were served a continental breakfast at the start of the cruise which we gobbled down in order to get out on deck. 
The cruise then lasted an hour and a half and took us along the sound, past numerous coves and waterfalls (one 3 times the height of Niagara Falls) and out into the Tasman Sea to a seal colony before returning back through the sound to Milford. The cruise was beautiful and a real highlight of our NZ trip so far. Back at Milford we jumped in the car for our 3 hour drive south to Lake Manapouri where we hoped to book onto a cruise on the Doutbful Sound. We returned along the same scenic route as the previous day as there is only one road in and out of Milford. We took a short detour to view the fantastic 249m high Humboldt Falls and walk a couple of the marvellous temperate rainforest trails in the Fiordland National Park. 
Wherever we stopped we had the whole place to ourselves which made it very special. We made the most of the tranquility and sat with our lunch on a riverbank that was surrounded with the most stunning mountain and forest scenery. After lunch we drove several hours to Manapouri, a tiny little village on the shores of Lake Manapouri. Following our guide book we checked into some accommodation on a farm perched on a hilltop with beautiful views over the valley and the lake. We had a small wooden cabin with a kitchenette and cute pot-belly stove for heating.. it was rustic and wonderful. We went for a ramble through the woodlands near the lake before returning to our cabin to defrost ourselves with a hot chocolate by the stove.
We had a beautiful clear morning and when we checked in we found out that there were only going to be 8 of us on a boat which was designed to carry 400 people! It was fantastic and made for a really special and personal trip. We were served a continental breakfast at the start of the cruise which we gobbled down in order to get out on deck. 
The cruise then lasted an hour and a half and took us along the sound, past numerous coves and waterfalls (one 3 times the height of Niagara Falls) and out into the Tasman Sea to a seal colony before returning back through the sound to Milford. The cruise was beautiful and a real highlight of our NZ trip so far. Back at Milford we jumped in the car for our 3 hour drive south to Lake Manapouri where we hoped to book onto a cruise on the Doutbful Sound. We returned along the same scenic route as the previous day as there is only one road in and out of Milford. We took a short detour to view the fantastic 249m high Humboldt Falls and walk a couple of the marvellous temperate rainforest trails in the Fiordland National Park. 
Wherever we stopped we had the whole place to ourselves which made it very special. We made the most of the tranquility and sat with our lunch on a riverbank that was surrounded with the most stunning mountain and forest scenery. After lunch we drove several hours to Manapouri, a tiny little village on the shores of Lake Manapouri. Following our guide book we checked into some accommodation on a farm perched on a hilltop with beautiful views over the valley and the lake. We had a small wooden cabin with a kitchenette and cute pot-belly stove for heating.. it was rustic and wonderful. We went for a ramble through the woodlands near the lake before returning to our cabin to defrost ourselves with a hot chocolate by the stove.On Thursday we booked on to a full day trip out onto the Doubtful Sound which is an exceptionally remote inlet from the Tasman Sea that is only accessible by tour and several modes of transport. We took a launch from the shores of Lake Manapouri and travelled one hour across the lake to West Arm at the opposite end of the lake. From here we looked around a small visitor centre before boarding a bus which took us across the mountains along the Wilson Pass and down into the Doubtful Sound. En-route we stopped for panoramic views of the Sound which were breathtaking. 
The Sound is wider and longer than Milford Sound and just as impressive and beautiful, perhaps even more so than Milford. We boarded a large catamaran and as we set sail down the Sound a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins swam alongside the boat. 
We spent almost the whole 3 hours on deck in perfect but cold weather (we couldn't believe our luck!) marvelling at the dramatic scenery and sucking in the fresh air. The snow-capped mountains towered alongside the Sound with waterfalls running down their sides... it made for another really memorable day. We took a bus back to West Arm and before boarding our launch back to Manapouri Village we visited a remote hydroelectric powerstation that is built 200m underground and reached via a 2km tunnel. The station pumps water through turbines from Lake Manapouri into Doubtful Sound to produce electricity for use at a distant smelting plant which supplies a huge quantity of high grade aluminium to the world market.
The Sound is wider and longer than Milford Sound and just as impressive and beautiful, perhaps even more so than Milford. We boarded a large catamaran and as we set sail down the Sound a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins swam alongside the boat. 
We spent almost the whole 3 hours on deck in perfect but cold weather (we couldn't believe our luck!) marvelling at the dramatic scenery and sucking in the fresh air. The snow-capped mountains towered alongside the Sound with waterfalls running down their sides... it made for another really memorable day. We took a bus back to West Arm and before boarding our launch back to Manapouri Village we visited a remote hydroelectric powerstation that is built 200m underground and reached via a 2km tunnel. The station pumps water through turbines from Lake Manapouri into Doubtful Sound to produce electricity for use at a distant smelting plant which supplies a huge quantity of high grade aluminium to the world market. We spent the evening relaxing in our cabin. 
There are no lights around the farm so at night it was pitch black and deathly silent. On several occasions we stepped out onto our balcony just to listen to the silence... not something you get very often. We both got a bit of a fright when we heard noises near to our cabin; Bi made a bee line for the cabin and left Ash out on deck to investigate and he was relieved to find it was only a couple of horses walking around, munching on the grass! We have had a splendid two days, easily the highlight of our NZ trip so far.
There are no lights around the farm so at night it was pitch black and deathly silent. On several occasions we stepped out onto our balcony just to listen to the silence... not something you get very often. We both got a bit of a fright when we heard noises near to our cabin; Bi made a bee line for the cabin and left Ash out on deck to investigate and he was relieved to find it was only a couple of horses walking around, munching on the grass! We have had a splendid two days, easily the highlight of our NZ trip so far.Tomorrow we head south around the Southern Scenic Route, the southernmost point of New Zealand and the Catlins Coast.
