My heart is so full already in New Zealand. This country is breathtaking.
(Note: Since I did not have great WiFi in NZ, most of these blog posts were written there and posted now that I am back in Australia)
Monday June 4th
I was up bright & early @ 4am to head down to the Brisbane airport. I had a good laugh because I had tater tot hot dish for brekky and was getting excited about seeing snow again … it’s good to know I’m still a Minnesotan! I finished getting packed up and called Logan until my airport shuttle picked me up. Airport checkin and security only took a few minutes so I had a few hours to just wander around and relax. At 9:30 am my flight left Brisbane to Queenstown, NZ. I was in awe from the moment I first saw land. Immediately the west coast had risen from the ocean and I saw snow-capped mountains calling my name! Man, I’ve missed seeing mountains. They were incredibly gorgeous.
Queenstown is basically in a valley, so we flew down into the mountains and it was just gorgeous. Upon arrival, I went through customs and only had about a 20 minute wait until my cousin, Arianna, arrived! She was flying from the United States and had been traveling for about 26 hours, but that didn’t stop us from getting crazy excited when we saw each other!
After our hellos and hugs, we caught a bus to our hostel, Nomads, which is in the CBD. The vibe we got upon arriving at Nomads was amazing – it was filled with many backpackers and travelers who were our age. We checked in and settled into our mixed dormitory room. We were quite impressed by our porch view as well with the ability to see multiple mountain ranges in each direction!
We decided to walk around the town a bit because from what we’d seen so far it looked amazing. If you’ve ever been to a town that resembles Golden or Boulder, Colorado – you’ll immediately understand Queenstown. It had hundreds of little shops and restaurants, lights all around downtown, and just a wonderful atmosphere to be in. We first walked down to Lake Wakatipu (about 30 steps from Nomads) and just gazed at how beautiful it looked, even at night. Then we also realized there was a lights festival happening that night (as Arianna called it – a smaller version on Bentlyville)! So we took some time to walk around there and enjoyed the cool evenings (the temp was around 40 degrees). It was 7pm by now and our stomaches were growling, so we headed to a restaurant across from Nomads and had a delicious dinner! We were both quite tired after a long day of traveling, so we called it a night.
Tuesday June 5th
Rise and shine, bright and early again. We were up at 6am to get ready for our Milford Sound 12 hour/full-day tour! (Pre-warning: there’s a lot amazing pictures ahead!) It was a relaxed morning and a gorgeous way to wake up seeing the sun rise over the Remarkables mountain range. Soon enough we entered into Fiordland National Park – and this is where it got even more stunning. First, let me say that I love the Rocky Mountains in the U.S., but I think I might be more in love with these mountains in NZ. These beautiful, snow-capped mountains rose all around us in every single direction. It was one of those sights where you stop and just say “wow”.
We first stopped at Mirror Lake, aptly named as the water perfectly reflected the mountains. We only stayed there for about 10 more minutes as we stopped at a few other locations on the road into Milford Sound (our final destination).
The next stop was probably my favorite view! We also saw Kea birds – one even decided to hop into our coach bus, but unfortunately we couldn’t keep it. As we drove on, we reached a huge mountain that had a one-way traffic tunnel cut through it – our coach bus was very close to the ceiling and it took at least 30 seconds or more to drive through the mountain.
Once on the other side, it was a bit more cloudy and rainy. As we drove the curvy roads down, we were surround in (yet again) even more incredible views! We finally arrived to the fiord named Milford Sound. Although it was raining on and off, it made for amazing fog. So we boarded a cruise and went around the lake for 2 hours and saw the beautiful land even more. We were able to see incredible peaks, waterfalls, and seals! Honestly I’ve never had a day more filled with jaw-dropping sights.
After the cruise, we hopped back on the bus and headed out of the National park. We picked the perfect day for this tour since it was sunny, rainy, snowing, and hailing … oh and not to mention there is a large snowstorm that will probably close down Fiordland National Park tomorrow! So we had some good timing for sure. The rest of the trip was a straight shot back to Queenstown with a short stop at a cafe in Te Anau. Needless to say, it was an amazing first full-day in New Zealand!
Another Point of View 
What a story! Treasure it all!
Each day is a gift….. Peggy
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