D woke at 6.30 to cold, clear blue skies & sunshine on the high snow-capped mountains, all around! Got up & dressed, & went outside to admire the views & take photos. L followed suit soon after, & at 7am the kids were woken, dressed, & put in the car! Beautiful drive up to Milford - hardly a car on the road - stopped for a couple of photo op's, even though we were on a time limit!

Arrived in Milford & found the harbour - not too difficult: it was where we ran out of road! Parked & walked to the ticket office / waiting area. Got charged $9 less than expected (hooray!) & spent the money on coffee for D&L! D bet M that she couldn't stay quiet for 10 mins, & promised her chocolate if she could! 9 mins later, she said "Stop!", as she was being tickled, and D claimed victory! L adjudged foul play, & promised M that she would get a big bar of choc, as D had cheated!

At 10 to 9 we boarded - a 400 seat vessel, with 10 people on board, & we were 4 of them! A low, thick, mist clung half way up the mountain sides, but the ship's captain promised us that it would burn off, which it steadily did over the next hour. As we practically had the boat to ourselves, we claimed places right at he front of the top deck, with occasional forays to the sides, where the railings were lower, & so the kids could see better. The two hour cruise took us all the way out to the Tasman Sea, & back again, with stop-offs to view waterfalls, Fiordland Crested penguins & NZ fur seals, amongst the magnificent mountainous scenery! Many photos were taken, & we all enjoyed the experience, immensely!

Back in Milford, there was some discussion as to the distance vs petrol ratio, & caution prevailed, so $20 was put in to top up the car. First stop on the way back south was "The Chasm", where the Cleddau River has cut some amazing shapes through softer bedrock & created deep waterfalls into the rock. Then we went through the Homer Tunnel, at the end of which we pulled over to look at a couple of Keas, but couldn't find the start of the Nature Walk!

We then drove on, past the turn for Hollyford, & paused at Pop's View (ha-ha!) for spectacular scenes of Hollyford Valley. A little further on, we stopped for lunch at The Divide - the start of several walking tracks. We spent the next 3 hours walking to the Key Summit Viewpoine & Alpine Nature Walk! 2 hours up (& 1 down!) through native forest on the mountainside, up to alpine tarns, shrub land & bogs, at the top. A great walk - beautiful weather & views, & with a minimum (ahem - well, nearly!) of moaning & fuss from the kids! Spectacular views from the summit lookout - hence, lots more photos!

Easy & quick climb down, back to the car park, but everyone was pretty tired, once they sat in the car! Drove straight back to Te Anau, with no further stops, for a quick run around the supermarket, in order to satisfy L's cauliflower cheese craving! Back to Manapouri, where this time we were in the "self contained" cabin, for $70.

D cooked, while L sorted out the beds & the kids' homework & diaries, and after eating, the kids went straight to bed - and straight to sleep (for a change!). D&L needed little encouragement to join them, once the bottle of wine was empty!