Our next stop started by setting off early from Franz Josef in order to catch the mirror reflections of Mount Cook on Lake Matheson. The scenery that we have passed along the way has been incredibly picturesque, although at times a little hard to document through a window. The lakes were no exception, everywhere you turned there were striking views, and imposing mountain ranges, we often have to pinch ourselves to avoid taking this place for granted.

Wanaka was our destination for the day and another beautiful town to stay in. The town was based around the huge Lake Wanaka, which was created by a Maori chief who dug out the depression with a massive spade....apparently! We settled down for the day and headed to a place called puzzle world. As you can imagine it is full of mind boggling and skill solving attractions, including the worlds first 3D maze and illusion rooms. We didn't spend too long there but it was surprisingly entertaining other than the maze that was just frustrating, although we did find the exit, the emergency one!

The next day we visited Milford Sounds. It was a whole day trip leaving in the morning and driving through alpine scenery and mountain vistas. We stopped off at numerous sights and the driver was really informative about the areas we were passing and its history. We arrived at Milford Sound where we boarded a boat cruise to take us through the fiords out to the Tasman Sea. The fiords formed by glacier erosion thousands of years ago are now a narrow arm of the sea boarded by rocky mountains and steep cliffs. As the water from the glacier is fresh and the sea is salt-water when they meet they separate, the heavier salt-water sinks whilst the fresh water rests on top making the underwater world rather interesting. The boat dropped us off at an underwater observatory where we could see exactly what was under this fresh water layer. The boat cruise lasted a few hours and after our feet returned firmly to solid ground we headed to Queenstown, watching the native forest past and occasionally stopping off at cascading waterfalls.

The first part of our trip is nearly up, which takes us down to Queenstown where most people spend quite a while partying, eating Fergburgers (Huge burgers) and throwing themselves off of cliffs, canyons and alike. Well that reminds me it's our turn next and with our tickets already booked there is no turning back.

Adam & Adam