January 23 - Day 15

Today was the earliest morning yet. Downstairs at the hotel buffet at 6:45 and on the bus at 7:15. The drive to Milford Sound is 120 km and our cruise is at 10:30 so an early start is needed. 

The drive was incredibly beautiful. The day started out very cloudy but we started seeing some sun breaks with the mountains peaking out. We started to realize what the New Zealand hype is all about. The fjords are magnificent. Hard to describe. We stopped at Mirror Lake and did a very short walk. We couldn’t see much as it is was too cloudy but there was a billboard picture there and the mountains surrounding the lake are spectacular. We continued our drive with another short stop. By now, we could see more of the mountains. Incredible. 

We arrived at Milford Sound at about 10:00. Walked around some and soaked up the incredible beauty. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. Got on the cruise at 10:30. The boat is really nice and they served us a box lunch which was quite good. We’ve had sandwiches almost every single day for lunch and I am admittedly a bit weary of them. I didn’t eat all my lunch but the high caloric intake continues, no matter how much I tell myself I will slow down. The cruise was beautiful beyond words. I would have preferred to see it under blue skies but the clouds added an element of awe that was very special. The mountains are unearthly like and the clouds shrouding them make you realize how small you are and how big they are. Nature wins. Every time. The fjords are something you will never forget.

After the cruise, we headed back on the bus. We stopped for a short one mile hike to Marian Falls. It was nice to get out and hike for a bit. The river was beautiful glacial blue. Falls were small but very pretty. We actually saw a koa bird which was so cool. 

Back on the bus again and I cannot keep my eyes open. Ending up sleeping some of the three hour drive back. We had about an hour to relax when we got back. Afterward, we headed to the cinema to watch a documentary about the fjords and the surrounding area. It was beautiful and very enjoyable. 

After the show, we had dinner together at a place called the Fat Duck. I had venison which was so good. And the desserts were over the top. So enormous. I got a sticky date dessert with a rum carmel sauce and ice cream. It was so good and soooooo rich. I couldn’t even begin to eat all of it and Matt couldn’t finish it either. I am still too full as I write this. TOO much food.

Matt and I walked for a couple miles after dinner. It is so nice to be with him. We enjoy the same things and everything is so effortless with him. How lucky I am. We are definitely getting more familiar with each other and are often quiet and pursuing the individual things we enjoy. But it always feels so peaceful and our life together brings me so much pleasure and joy. 

It is 52 degrees with a howling wind. So cold. I will not forget how cold it is here and how rare blue skies are. I could never live here. But it is still a privilege to be here. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

January 19 - Day 11

Another early morning. I woke up at 3:30 am when Erika sent me a text and it took me a while to get back to sleep but I still had a good night of sleep. We had our buffet at the hotel again, dressed for our bike ride, got our suitcases into the bus and headed out to where we will meet the company with the bikes. It is a cool morning but more blue sky than clouds. By the time we got onto our bikes and received instructions, the sky is even more blue. So happy to see the sun. We are riding a trail called Alps2Ocean. It is a very long trail through New Zealand and we are riding one stretch of it. A bit into the ride and we could see the godly Mt. Cook! The ride was so beautiful. We rode along the shores of gorgeous turquoise Lake Pukaki with the mountain soaring in the background. Very idyllic and beautiful. The bike ride was a lot of fun, even with many stops. About halfway in, we stopped and had some sandwiches and rested a bit. Now the trail pulled away from the lake. It was still beau...
Read more

January 22 - Day 14

On the road again. We were out of bed at 6 am and packed and ready to go at 6:45. Walked up to the cafe where we would eat breakfast. The food is good and the coffee is marvelous. I didn’t sleep very well last night. Had a very vivid dream that David was alive and I was trying to explain all the decisions I’d made since his death. It was a bit unsettling. After breakfast, we boarded the bus and started our trip to Te Anau. It was a beautiful trip. Through the rolling countryside of New Zealand, peppered with sheep and cows. We stopped about half way for a bathroom stop and I bought another Americano at a place called Coffee Bomb. It was good but not as good as the coffees in the cafes.  We drove through Te Anau to the Kepler Track, a hike in the Fjordland National Park. The group divided into two hikes, one longer than the other. We hiked the long one of course. The day was nice, cloudy but pleasant. The foliage reminded me a lot of the Olympic Forest in Seattle, moss and ferns eve...
Read more

January 20 - Day 12

We packed so much activity into this day. Wow. I’m so tired writing this. Last night, we had a very amusing thing happen. It was about midnight and Matt and I were both asleep. We woke up to someone in our room. The person was profusely apologizing saying she had accidentally gone into the wrong room. We just lay there quiet. I recognized the woman’s voice and realized she was part of our group. She struggled with the door and couldn’t figure out how to let herself out the sliding door into the courtyard which was the way she entered. She finally apologized again and let herself out the front door. After she left, Matt and I both started laughing hysterically. Pretty funny. The good thing was that Matt was now awake and got a chance to go out and see the stars in a dark sky environment.  We started the day with breakfast at a local cafe. Coffee was great. The granola and yogurt could not compare to Hamner Springs but it was ok. After breakfast, we boarded the bus and headed to Bann...
Read more