Another 7.30 departure this morning, when will I ever catch up on sleep? Still, I was quite excited to get up this morning as today was the Milford Explorer trip! We met up with the big green bus in Te Anau and drove along State Highway 94, one of the most scenic drives in world, to see one of the great wonders of the world: The Milford Sound (technically a fjord, not a sound, as it was formed by glacial activity...)

Milford is part of a huge national park and world heritage site that is roughly the size of Wales. It is generally well protected and the famous 4 day Milford Track limits numbers to about 80 people starting each day in order to protect the environment. This means that you now have to book the track 6-12 months in advance, so Tim you are extremely lucky and privileged to have done it!

People never really settled in Milford because it is one of the wettest regions in the world, getting an average of about 7 metres of rainfall on 182 days per year. Apparently, it has had London's average annual rainfall in the space of 24 hours! Imagine! However, the rainfall does make the sounds even more spectacular - there are two massive, permanent waterfalls, but in wet weather, hundreds of them appear cascading down sheer rock faces everywhere you look.

Our trip involved a 2 hour boat cruise through the sound, out to the Tasman Sea and back again. It wasn't raining today so it was pleasant enough and not too windy to stand out on deck. It didn't take long for me to see why the sound is such a popular tourist attraction, it really is beautiful. There are steep sided rock faces either side of the sound and some really high peaks, such as Mitre Peak at 1692 metres, with rainforests clinging precariously to the slopes.

It was great to see somewhere so beautiful yet still relatively untouched, unlike so many other places in the world these days. The nearest tourist centre is 102km away in Te Anau along State Highway 94 which goes right through the mountains along the 1.2km Homer Tunnel. Unsurprisingly, the road is prone to closures due to major rockfalls and avalanches. We saw the result of a recent rockfall on the way today and although the road is open again, the major clear up operation is still ongoing.

I am now staying at the YHA in Te Anau. I'm so annoyed that I haven't used YHA earlier as they're much cleaner and more peaceful than the standard backpacker hostels that Kiwi Experience book us in to. Also, my membership card gives me discount and free, unlimited wifi! I suppose it would have been anti-social and lonely not to stay with my bus group each time though.

Our Bottom Bus driver, Don (the older guy), lives in Te Anau. He very kindly offered to cook dinner for those staying in the town this evening, so I'm just back from being treated to delicious whitebait patties with homegrown potatoes and veg, and good Marlborough wine! It was so lovely to be in someone's home for a change and have a home cooked (and free) meal. What a treat!