March 21 – Milford Sound

March 21, 2016 – Milford Sound
We headed out for Mitford Sound at 7:30am. Since we’ll be making a few stops on the way, we hope to get there at 1pm.
We drove past a deer farm. They are raised for the venison and exported. The primary market is the U.S.
Our first stop was Te Anau. It is a small town on the 2nd largest lake in New Zealand, Lake Te Anau. We had 1/2 hour to get coffee, take pictures, shop, and use the facilities.
Back on the road we can see the mountains with pockets of fog and clouds. Very “Lord of the Rings”-like.
The day is cloudy with pockets of rain. Milford Sound gets 30 feet of rain a year. The sun was peeking through when we got there. By the time Alan bought the tickets and dwelling lined up it had started drizzling. We had 1/2 hour to wait before boarding and by the time we did it was pouring. Many of us had planned to stand out on the bow but we decided to stay indoors.
The boat ride was a lot of fun. Because of the rain many small waterfalls were visible that aren’t always there. The large waterfalls were very impressive. The boat drove right up close to two waterfalls getting everyone on the bow soaked. I stayed inside for most of the cruise and took photos through the window. We were on the boat for 2 1/2 hours.
We took the “quick” way back with only a fast break for use of the facilities and to pick up a snack since we won’t get back until 8pm.
Tomorrow we have the morning off. In the afternoon most of us have signed up for an optional tour. We will be doing the Dart River jet-boat safari which will include seeing where parts of Lord of the Kings and X-Men were filmed.