Days 103, 104 and 105

It was only a short plane journey from Auckland to Queenstown. There was alot of cloud over the whole of NZ so it wasnt until we began our descent that we got our first view of the South island. The position of the runway meant that we came down inbetween two mountains, which was abit of an odd feeling. We checked into our hostel (Absoloot Value) and still had the afternoon to look around the town. Queenstown was a stunning place with mountains acting as the backdrop for Lake Wakatipu. We took a cable car up the mountain passing the Ledge bungy on the way, and we couldn't stop taking pictures of the view, although none seemed do it justice. We grabbed some fish and chips for tea by the lake, which was crystal clear due to its origin as glacial runoff.

We woke early the next morning, and Michelle hadn't slept much as today was Bungy day! We had booked our Karawu Bridge Bungy for the morning and were soon in the mini bus for the short 20 minute trip to the bridge. Michelle was very nervous and once we had been weighed and checked in it was time to walk out to the jump platform. We decided to do a tandem jump, so that I could pull Shell off with me if she bottled it. Once we were harnessed up we shuffled out to the edge and it looked a very long way down. The guy began the count down and we both jumped (no push needed). It was over pretty quick but was much smoother than it looked. The boat detached us at the bottom and we walked back up the hill to view the photos. Michelle was very proud to have done it and although her legs were a little wobbly she was otherwise ok. We headed to the park in the afternoon in order to experience Frisbie golf, which was really fun especially as I won!

Another early morning later and we were on a coach to visit Milford Sounds for the day. Milford Sounds is justone of the fjords that make up the Fjordland National Park, and is where some of the scenic backdrops for Lord of the Rings were filmed. The bus ride took around 3 hours but this wasn't too bad as the views were amazing along the way and we made several stops for photos and snacks! We also stopped at a river where the water was so fresh and cold we were able to fill up our water bottles. Once we arrived at Milford we boarded a small boat for our cruise of the fjord. Again we were struck by how beautiful the scenery was, and we passed many pretty waterfalls and mountains. The best was to come though, as after quick lunch somebody spotted dophins in the distance. The water was really clear as the area gets around 7m of rainfall a year, and this meant that we could see the dolphins really well as they swam and jumped around the boat. We weren't expecting to see any as we didn't know that they were found in the area, and we realised how lucky we were when the tour guide told us that it was rare for them to be seen. After the cruise it was time to jump back on the bus back to Queenstown. Although it was only a fleeting visit to the fjordlands it was definitely worth it, and is another reason why Queenstown has been one of the best places we have visited so far.