My wake-up call, 5:45 am, came way too early, but I got up with excitement – today was the trip to the fjord of Milford Sound. A coach picked me up at 7:15 and 5-1/2 hours later I was at the Sound boarding the tour boat. When we left Queenstown, we got deeper and deeper into the coastal mountains and the landscape got higher and steeper providing us with spectacular vistas. And all the high peaks were covered with snow adding to the intrigue.
Once on the water, the steep slopes of the fjord towered high above us and seemed to draw us out toward the Tasman Sea. We were out there a couple of hours and were treated to a natural history lesson on the geology and animals by our guide. Just after we turned around to return to our dock, we encountered a pod of dolphins. One even dove directly under our bow. A few minutes later we passed a half dozen seals sunning themselves on rocks.
The highlight of the day was our 30-minute return flight to Queenstown. It saved us another 5-hour bus ride. And this time we looked down on everything steep. It still left me in awe. It was an absolutely incredible end to my New Zealand visit. Tomorrow I fly to Melbourne.