So thanks to me we woke early enough the next day to have a shower and breakfast before the trip picked us up at 9:50am…Mark was snoring away when I woke him up, even though he had told me the night before that we wouldn't need to set an alarm because he would wake up!!!

Anyway…..we we're both quite apprehensive about the kayak trip, worrying we were going to be taking a swim in Milford Sound rather than observing it! Our guide Tex (real name something more boring and common!!) was really friendly and luckily the other 6 people in our group didn't have much experience either so we weren't the odd ones out! The group consisted of 4 brits (us two plus two sisters) and 4 yanks (they get everywhere don't they?!). The first job was changing out of our clothes and into some thermals which were a gloriously tight and stripy! Next layer was a fleece jumper, then a kayak 'skirt', then a 'waterproof' jacket, then a lifejacket before finally a peaked cap (surprisingly it was raining!!) and a woolly hat on top of that to keep your ears warm! We wouldn't be winning any prizes for best dressed today!

Tex then explained that we would be in double kayaks which put the fear of god into me as Mark had only been telling me that morning that the last time he went kayaking, which granted was about 10 years ago, he capsized! Also judging by the fact he can't even cross a small stream without getting his feet wet, his sense of balance is pretty much zero! I looked out at the Sound wondering if anyone would notice if I snuck off and hid in the bus, but no sooner than I was pondering my escape plan I found myself sitting in the kayak pulling my 'skirt' around me to prevent any water from entering the kayak. Mark was soon in place behind me and we were being pushed out into the water. For a few moments neither of us dare move so as not to rock the kayak and I was convinced we were about to roll at any moment! The rest of the group were quickly in the water after us and soon we were paddling out of the dock area and into the open water. As I was in the front my job was to navigate by telling Mark which way to move our rudder with the pedals so that we would go left or right all whilst trying to synchronise our strokes to give us maximum acceleration along the water.

After everyone had got to grips with the paddling we formed a raft by lining up side by side and griping the kayak next to you. Tex bobbed about in front of us and explained what we would be doing for the next 4 hours or so that we would be our on the water for. Basically we would be covering a 12km loop which took us past waterfalls and hopefully some wildlife. The Sound has some resident fur seals which we had a good chance of seeing as well as a few different birds and the possibility of some dolphins that sometimes frequent the area.

We were soon off again heading towards a huge cascading waterfall to take a closer look. As we paddled past the falls and carried on, pretty much hugging the shoreline, we were soon in sight of our first fur seal of the day lazing on the rocks. One look at us though in our stripy pyjamas and he was soon making a dash for the water and gone out of sight.

By now the rain was hammering down and we were glad we weren't wearing our own clothes as their waterproof jacket seemed to be doing a good job from stopping us getting too wet. The rain gave the Sound a eerie feel as the fog came in and smothered the mountain peaks but you can see why they say this is the best way to see the Sound as you get a great perspective from sea level.

As the rain became heavier, Tex got more and more excited and kept telling us how lucky we were to have weather like this for our trip. His enthusiasm gave us the impression he wasn't taking the p and soon we realised what he was talking about. The whole place transformed into gushing waterfalls literally all around us and mixed with the mist and fog it felt magical even if our bums had started to get wet!

The time flew by and just before we headed back a few seals surrounded the kayaks and fluidly rolled through the water with what looked like no effort at all. It was amazing to see them so relaxed and so close to our kayaks.

After pausing briefly to make a raft and have a cup of hot sweet drink that they provided to warm us up and give us a burst of energy to help us get back to dock, we were soon heading back.

Much to my surprise and relief we made it back to land without capsizing so all in all a great success. Our warm dry clothes were a welcomed relief although we were soaked through to our undies so they didn't stay that way for long! Think we were both really happy we did the trip and definitely happy to go on another, although maybe in a warmed or at least drier place!

After a quick change of clothes and a hot chocolate at the camper we were soon on our way out of Milford towards Te Anau where we decided to spend the night. We were both absolutely exhausted from the kayaking and after dinner we warmed ourselves up in front of the open fire place in the campsites lounge and had an early night.

A & M xxx