Queenstown was an amazing place! It was a long drive from Franz Josef though. We even picked up a hitchhiker! Julius from Germany, another backpacker like myself. So after leaving about 9am we didn't get there till maybe 4pm. We did stop at Wanaka for some lunch. We wished we had more time as it looked like a really nice place to spend a few days. Our accommodation was called Villa del Lago, which were lakefront apartments - beautiful views! That evening we had to drop the hire car off at the airport and we went back to the apartment and made some dinner.

The following day we had a bit of a lie in before walking into Queenstown - roughly half an hour or so. We went through the gardens on the lake that were very pretty before wandering around the town. We had a yummy breakfast before heading up to the Gondola for some stunning views. It was very windy so the cart was wobbling all over the place which didn't sit well with Mum... She was glad when we made it to the top. And I think the views were worth it! She was better on the way down. We spent the rest of the afternoon pottering around the shops as the weather wasn't on our side.

The next day we had a relaxed morning at the apartment before going on our Lord of the Rings tour to Glenorchy. It was a 4x4 off road jeep experience that took you to lots of the breath taking film locations. The company also had an iPad on board where they played clips from the film so you could see how they had used the location. It was amazing just how many places in the nearby areas of Queenstown they had actually used. Our guide was saying how the films have dramatically increased tourism to New Zealand! Our guide was very funny and had actually worked on the films in the safety team! How cool is that. He had some amusing stories about the actors whilst they were filming in particular Sean Bean who was apparently a bit of a drama queen! Once we got back we went out for dinner and drinks at a yummy steak house on the lakefront.

Our final day we had to be up super early for our Milford Sound trip. We had opted for the Coach Cruise Fly tour which meant we got to see all the different aspects. The weather wasn't very good on the drive there, lots of rain and mist. But thankfully it stayed dry once we had arrived. The drive itself had some stunning scenery especially as we started to go in between the mountains! There was a long dark tunnel to get to Milford Sound which had been carved through the mountain, there was no concrete structure to keep it in place which was a little nerve wracking, wouldn't want to be in there during an earthquake or really bad storm! Once we got there we hopped on a boat for a tour of the Sound. I could definitely see how it got its reputation for being one of the most beautiful places in New Zealand. There were waterfalls along the side, seals sleeping in the sun, snow capped mountains all around. Just magical. However, the best and scariest part of the day was when we got to fly back to Queenstown. It was in a tiny 10 seater plane which I wasn't sure if it was going to survive the turbulents! It did thank goodness, but the views may have been worth dying for... It was breathtaking and amazing to see it all from a distance. New Zealand has got to be one of the most beautiful places I've been to so far. An amazing way to end the trip. Will definitely need to go back as there's so much more to see and do. Maybe have a taster of the extreme sports available. Hopefully one day in the not too distant future.