We left Queenstown bright and early in the morning on a new Stray bus
to head to Milford Sound, and Gunn's camp where we were staying for
the night. Once again the drive there was pretty scenic, but
unfortunately it was slightly spoiled by the heavy rain and mist which
so far in NZ we had managed to avoid!

We arrived at the Sound (or to give it the correct technical name,
fjord - since it was carved out by a glacier and is not a flooded
valley) mid-afternoon after a couple of stop-offs and, as we had
booked to do an overnight cruise the next day, we killed some time
playing Scrabble (with Jonny getting wound up because I whooped his
ass!) in a cafe whilst the rest of the group went on their cruise.

Our plans for the next few days meant we had to hop-off the bus and
catch the next one in 3 days time. So on the way to Gunn's camp we
asked the driver if she could drop us off at the ferry terminal the
next morning, only to be told that this would not be possible as it
would take the bus an hour out of it's way! This is when mild panic
set in with me as our only other options seemed to either be very
expensive or involve hitch hiking! Needless to say the latter did not
appeal to me in the slightest whilst Jonny seemed excited at the
prospect!

Nevertheless we had a night at Gunn's camp to ponder our options. This
was basically a campsite in the middle of nowhere which was a throw
back to the 1930s with small cabins with log fires where the
electricity generator turns off at 10pm! That coupled with the teaming
rain, sandflies and the fact that some people would have to share
double beds with people they had only met that day meant the mood
amongst the Stray passengers was not the most positive!

During the evening we eventually managed to hatch a plan to get us
back to Milford Sound the next day which, to cut a long story short
was for the driver to drop us off at a random bus stop called 'The
Divide' at 7am in the hope that a shuttle bus would drive past at
8.30am with enough space to be able to pick us up. Failing this we
would have to hitch hike!! I had a bit of a restless night that night!!

Waiting at the Divide in the cold and rain I had the feeling we had
been abandoned in the middle of nowhere and were probably going to die
and was cursing the bus driver (and Jonny for being so damn positive
as per). During the long wait there were a few torturous moments where
a tour group rocked up for a tea and coffee stop (without even
offering us a cookie may I add) and another where a couple whipped out
a cooking stove and I was convinced they were going to start cooking
bacon. Luckily, in the nick of time the shuttle bus showed up and was
completely empty. We were saved from certain death! What made it
better was that the driver was horrified we had been left there, took
pity on us and only charged us a fraction of the usual fare - though
the fact that Jonny spent the whole journey schmoozing the guy (whilst
I slept in the back) probably helped no end too!

Things then started to pick up when we arrived at the hostel where we
able to spend the day (and have a brew!) before getting on the
overnight cruise. It wad nice and homely and we were soon in a much
better mood - Milford was coming up Milhouse!! (Sowers if you're reading this - that one was for you)

We got on the boat around 4pm and were immediately served up soup as
we set sail which went down a treat. We anchored in Harrison's Cove
where we were taken on tour around the Cove on a smaller speedboat and
got to see some penguins!! Unfortunately though the weather was still
not that great and we got soaked!

That night we had dinner in the 'cosy saloon' which basically meant we
had to share tables with the other passengers which was good but not
really what we had imagined! Luckily we did manage to get our own
cabin even if there was a curtain instead of a door! Unfortunately it
was too misty to see the sunset but it was still pretty cool going out
on the deck at dusk.

Next morning after polishing off a fry up we continued the cruise
round the rest of the Sound. Even though the weather was not that
great we could still appreciate how beautiful it was, and one of the
plus sides of the heavy rainfall was the waterfalls that form all
round the Sound which were breathtaking!

The weather eventually cleared up all of a sudden that afternoon and
became glorious sunshine, so although the cruise had finished we were
able to get some good views of Mitre Peak and take some photos!

The next day we went back to the ferry terminal for the fourth time in
as many days to meet the next Stray Bus. Despite the driver not
realising she has to pick us up, luckily there was space so we headed
back to Gunn's camp to spend another night in the 1930s. Thankfully it
was a lot drier this time which made the experience more bearable, and
plus there was no stressing about what we were going to do the
following morning this time!