Milford Sound - 09/02/2013

So first things first; Milford sound is not a sound, it is actually a fiord. Which means it was formed from a glacier. To get there from Queenstown involves a four hour bus ride. So Tasha and Tom (two people I had met at my hostel) and I got on the bus at 6:45am, to make our way to Milford sound. There was a little kid on our bus who got sick a total of three times on the way there. If you know your kid gets car sick, why wouldn't you bring plastic bags and sit at the front of the bus? Aside from that, the drive was just a taste of what was to come. The coolest place was Mirror Lake.

Now the road that leads to Milford sound is known for its avalanches and rock slides but lucky for us it was open! 

At one stop along the way, we were standing on metal grate suspended over the mountain side. I was telling Tom about how much it would suck to drop something because it would fall through the grate and you would never see it again. Of course not 30 seconds later, I knocked the lens of my camera and the lens cap came off and fell through the grate and down the Mountain side… really. I feel like only things like that only happen to me.

Once we got to the entrance of the fiord we boarded the boat and we were off on our tour. I could not have asked for a better day of weather. The sun was out and shining and everything literally sparkled. 

Milford sound is indescribable. It doesn’t like it's that big, but at some points but it's over 4km wide. 

I saw amazing water falls that would just randomly appear from the rocks. 

We traveled to the mouth of Milford sound which comes in contact with the Tasmen Sea.

I can see why people don’t really like to travel over the Tasmen Sea. We were sheltered in Milford sound, but off in the distance you could see how rough it was!

On the way back to port my friends helped me out by snapping the iconic Milford Sound pictures.

The boat captain also took us nice and close to a waterfall, and those of us standing at the bow got a little shower. Seeing Milford Sound and spending time in Queenstown were a great start to my spring break trip, and I cannot wait to continue exploring the South Island of New Zealand. 

The start of Spring Break, Queenstown! - 08/31/2013

Early Saturday morning I headed out to the Auckland airport to make my way to Queenstown for the start of my mid semester break (aka spring break). Traveling domestically through New Zealand is so easy compared to the United states not to mention I thought it was weird that not once was I asked for an ID... 

The flight down the coast was breath taking. I would say 95% of the flight there was a view of the spectacular New Zealand Alps.

When I stepped off the plane in Queenstown onto the tarmac I was in shock at the scenery. I just thought to myself that this is where I want to live one day, just to add to my parents' fear that I am never coming home. I hopped on the bus into town and meet a girl who lives and works at one of the mountains near by and I got a nice little guided tour on the public bus! I then checked into my hostel, although I feel it deserve a better name than a hostel. This place has everything you could possibly need from iPads to snowboards, and nicer bathrooms than I have in Auckland. It feels like a souped up dorm!

For lunch I went to the famous Fergburger where I consumed a burger the size of my face and it was delicious! I also got to explore the small city of Queenstown and walk around the lake.

In the afternoon I hiked up to the top of one of the mountains to see the complete views of Queenstown. This hike nearly killed me. I was on the struggle bus the entire way up but the views were worth it! I cheated and rode the gondola down.

The next morning I woke up nice and early again to head out to Cardrona mountain for a day of snowboarding. The bus ride that took me there scared me and I was not sure if I was actually going to make it to the mountain alive, but I did! The weather was perfect with not a cloud in the sky the entire day.

One of the first things I noticed was that even chair lifts run the opposite way! I luckily did not have any problems with getting off of chairlifts, which was a concern after not been snowboarding for about 2 years. I did however fall over in the line for the chair lift. Not really for any reason other than I lost my balance.

By midday I was back into swing of things a feeling pretty confident. So I decided to take my waterproof camera and have the video running while I went down the mountain. Well of course this would be when I have my first fall of the day on a patch of ice and I have it all on video. (the video will be posted when I get back to Auckland)

Overall I had a really good day on the mountain and went on pretty much every run, had a go in the terrain park (my butt is mad at me for that) and snowboarded for a good six hours. My legs are already sore and its not even tomorrow yet. I finished off the day with some wine at one of the cafes with a view and then headed back. Tomorrow I'm going Milford Sound, so look out for a post about that!