Saturday 26 March 2016
We have a longish drive this morning through some of the beautiful South Island scenery from Queenstown to Milford Sound. On a map it does not seem quite so far away – but the route is far from direct as we head along the eastern shore of Lake Wakapitu.
On the way there we stop at Eglinton Valley, then Mirror Lakes and later at the Chasm amongst some of that wonderful scenery.
Milford Sound is a long distance from holiday accommodation so coach firms for travellers have to carefully plan their arrival times as facilities are limited. I suspect there is a limit how early the coach can arrive before the boat departs.
We see some seals basking on rocks towards the end of the journey and pass waterfalls but wildlife is perhaps not as visible today as it is on other days. However the entire area is very wonderful; somehow I do not think the photographs do it justice.
The photographs of the journey and Milford Sound can be found here.
The drive back to Queenstown certainly leads to my usual sleep – but as we near our destination there is again some great views. It all feels like Scotland, but with a magnifier applied to make it all much larger.
Dinner this evening is another highlight. Roaring Meg’s is a recreation of a much earlier establishment which has been lost in the redevelopment of Queenstown but has the internal fittings of the original. The food is very good – probably the second best meal of the trip. As an example here is our lamb:
Food photographs from https://www.facebook.com/jackie.whitbread.3
Roaring Meg and Gentle Annie were allegedly two prostitutes who ran competing houses for the locals in the Nineteenth century. Roaring Meg was allegedly the quiet one whilst Gentle Annie was far more raucous! I bet the food is better today – a Swiss chef is in charge.
A very long and tiring day. But very wonderful.