So this morning we started early, and we arrived at the ferry terminal in plenty of time for our ferry. We'd booked the longer cruise ($77pp) to make the most of our time on the Sound.

As we set off, we cruised past our first waterfall of the day, and headed out towards the Tasman Sea. It's hard to describe how spectacular the place was - you'll just have to look at the photos to get an idea! Huge cliffs that were covered in trees right down to the waterline lined our route through the fiord which was completely calm and quiet, apart from the noise of the boats like ours passing through. We went past cliffs where you could see the iron ore and copper within them, and hanging valleys carved out between cliffs by glaciers moving through them over thousands of years during the last Ice Age.

We eventually got to the Tasman Sea, which was where we turned around - that's as close as we'll get to Oz until we fly there in about 5 weeks! On the return journey, we stopped at the Stirling Falls and the boat pulled right up to the cliff that the falls were running down - a good time for a photo while all of us on the front of the boat got soaked!

We also cruised past some sunbathing seals and got really clsoe. Our guide told us that they were all males that had been kicked out of the main colony by the bull as they were a threat to all his girlfriends! They wait until they are fully grown and then go back and challenge the bull for control of the colony. The whole trip was an unforgetable experience - definately one of our highlights here.

After the cruise, we had a slow drive back to Te Anau, the way we came along the Milford Road. We stopped at the Chasm, where a massive volume of water is forced through a tiny gap between two rocks - very noisy! When we stopped for lunch, we were flagged down by an American couple who'd broken down - they'd left their van lights on (everyone drives with lights on during the day here - why??) while they went hiking and had a flat battery. They needed some jump leads, but we didn't have any. We made a plan to drive the girl 20km down the road to Knob's Flat (yes, that's a real place name!) where there was a phone she could use. Just as we were reversing away to play the good samaritan, a girl drove into the car park who DID have jump leads, so we were saved a detour and the couple got their van started in the end.

Eventually, we arrived back in Te Anau and headed for a campsite overlooking the lake - one of the nicest we've stayed in, with a massive TV lounge and TV and a fully equipped kitchen. We settled dwon with a bottle of red and watched X Factor USA!