After picking up our campervan and parking it up for three days whilst we explored Queenstown it was time to hit the road. Gemma did the first drive from Queenstown to Te Anau and it was quite remarkable because it was the first time that she had driven a vehicle bigger than her Corsa! We parked up at a Department of Conservation campsite about 110kms away from Milford Sound. DOC campsites are very basic with no running water (if you wanted water you had to go to the lake or a stream), no electricity and squat toilets. We were lucky that our campervan (despite not having a toilet) was pretty much self-contained and the lack of facilities didn't affect us, save if you were caught short during the night.

Our choice of campsite meant that we had the following day to spend driving leisurely up the Milford Road and take in the numerous natural sights. It was a fantastic journey as every 20kms or so there was a stop to see something different. The highlights of the drive were the Mirror Lake which perfectly reflects the Earl Mountains, the view from Knob's Flat, Cascade Creek nature walk through a red beech forest, the magnificent view from the Hollyford Valley Lookout over the Hollyford Valley and the Darren Mountains and finally The Chasm where the Cleddau River has cut fascinating shapes into the rock and fallen trees.

Without overstating matters the drive to Milford Sound was through some of the most dramatic countryside either of us had seen and after spending the day admiring the views and sights we knew that it had been the correct decision to spend a precious day of our time in New Zealand enjoying the road trip to Milford Sound.

We camped that night just outside of Milford Sound in another DOC site with the same facilities as before, this site was right on the shores of Lake Gunn and provided a magnificent view of the lake. Craig cooked a steak dinner using the two gas rings which was quite a feat!

We were up bright and early to make sure that we were on the first boat trip around Milford Sound with Milford Cruize who were pretty good, especially as we received free coffee and muffins and got a buy one get one free deal on the tour itself. The weather was slightly disappointing, overcast and a little intermittent rain, but that didn't spoil things as we could still see the tops of the mountains and as far along the fiord as we needed to.

Milford Sound was once a long, deep valley gouged out of the rock by millions of years of glacial activity. Eventually the valley entrance became open to the sea and icy waters of the Tasman Sea flooded into the valley creating the Sound. The cruise itself is around an hour and a half in duration and takes you a return trip through Milford Sound out to the Tasman Sea. We saw a couple of waterfalls, Lady Bowen Falls and Stirling Falls which are around 160m high. At Stirling Falls the boats skipper takes the boat as close to the waterfall as is humanly possible without actually touching it, the spray from the falls ensures that everyone gets a good soaking. New Zealand fur seals inhabit the area and we saw one lounging on a rock. Then there are the dramatic mountains, ranging from 1300m to 2000m in height including Mitre Peak which at 1692m is one of the largest mountains in the world to rise directly from the sea floor. Finally there is Pembroke Glacier, one of the glaciers that carved out Milford Sound.

We really enjoyed our trip up to Milford Sound and would really recommend it. The Fiord itself is spectacular, a natural wonder of the World. In some ways Gemma thought the journey to Milford Sound was better than the actual cruise itself, but this may have been due to the fact that we had sunny weather while driving through the countryside whilst on the cruise the weather was very overcast.