New Zealand IX - On my God I can't believe it I have never been this far away from home

1st November - Mountains enroute to Milford Sound

I spent a few days in Queenstown and then got on the Bottom Bus trip around the tip of the South Island. It is the furthest you can get from Blighty without heading to the Antarctic. It was similar to the Eastas trip I did on the North Island. However, a big difference was that a group of people from the bus I was on into Queenstown also came on this trip. It was a quiet trip after the frolics of the West Coast but it was enjoyable. The weather was cold, rainy and windy for most of it which didn't help. The first stop was Dunedin. Dunedin was modelled on Edinburgh and is known as the most Scottish city outside of Scotland. It lived up to it with overcast skies and grey buildings. There were some nice parts to it, but it didn't capture my imagination. We went out in the evening and couldn't find anywhere even remotely busy, it was a Sunday night and it was raining. The next day we headed down through the Catlins to Curio Bay. We had a series of walks off the bus to see different things. It was OK but again the weather made getting off the bus not particularly pleasant. When we arrived at Curio Bay the weather improved and I went on a good guided walk around the area. The guide showed us how to make a bouncy ball from seaweed, a plant that tasted of celery, natural insect repellent and nearly led us into a Sea Lion hiding amongst the bushes. We also had a look around a petrified forest. In the evening we went down to the petrified forest and watched yellow-eyed penguins coming back to their nests. The next morning we stopped to make a paua shell necklace and had breakfast in Invercargill (the Southern most city in the Commonwealth). We then spent a couple of hours on a farm where we fed a lamb, watched sheep being rustled and sheared a sheep. I had a go at shearing and was surprised by how docile the sheep was, I expected to jump about but it was just lying their thinking of New Zealand. The nice thing about the farm excursion was that the guides were real farmers and not just tourist guides, they weren't particularly good at public speaking but they were the real deal. The overnight stop was at Te Anau. It is on a massive lake which makes for another pretty view.

The next morning we were picked up for the day trip to Milford Sound. It was a great trip. The weather was perfect, blue skies with a few clouds. The driver was a really fun guy called Jason. The drive to Milford from Te Anau and then back via Te Anau to Queenstown has to be one of the most beautiful in the world. It was stunning driving past snow-capped mountain ranges. The ferry trip on the Sound itself was very good. It wasn't particularly busy so we were able to enjoy the views. Underwater World was a bit pointless, but it was included in the ticket. You may not have heard of Milford Sound but you will recognise it from all of the tourist brochures and adverts for New Zealand. Once we got back to Queenstown we met up with some people who had stayed there for longer and again went to Altitude and World Bar.