Thursday, February 16, 2017

Milford Sound -February 16,2017:

This morning at 7:30 am we were loaded up on the bus traveling west to Milford Sound.  Travel time was about 4 hours as there was not roads that went directly to this area.  We had a couple stops for restrooms and coffee and then when we entered Fiordlands National Park we made several stops for picture taking.  This was a very pretty scenic area with mountains, lakes and waterfalls.  When we arrived at Milford Sound we boarded a boat for a one and half hour tour.  Buffet lunch was served which was very nice- sesame chicken, lamb chops, venison ribs, lo mein dish, salad and ice cream cup for dessert.  The weather was perfect sunny skies and a little coolness.  This Milford Sound is really not a sound but a fjord as this channel was carved out by glacier not by flowing water.  The walls of the mountains were flowing with waterfalls from the melting snow.  A group of playful dolphins entertained us.  Fur seals were sunning themselves on a rock.  We traveled out to the Tasman Sea and then back to the pier.
On our return to Queenstown travels we had a traffic jam of sorts as a huge flock of sheep were being herded down the road.  This trip passed through mostly farm lands.  Large flocks of sheep seemed to be the predominate farm animal.  There were some cattle, dairy and beef.  It is surprising to see herds of deer in fenced in pastures.

Returning to Queenstown and our hotel, Tom and I walked to the downtown area for a bite to eat.  The streets and park areas were teeming with teenagers and young adults.  Tomorrow we have nothing scheduled until 3:30pm and we are looking forward to that down time.