Mar. 4

A group of about 50 of us left the ship in Milford Sound for our overland tour. Thirty of us, including Mike and myself, will be spending the night in Queenstown and rejoining the ship the next day in Dunedin. The other twenty have another day, and will rejoin the ship in Christchurch.

They took us from the ship to the head of the sound in a small launch, where we boarded the buses. Milford Sound is an incredibly beautiful fjord, surrounded by mountains, with waterfalls everywhere. The area is a rainforest, very, very green. Our bus trip took us from the head of the sound, up into the mountains - with lots of stops for scenery and photos - and around the end of a chain of mountains into Queenstown. Although at one point we were only 54km from Queenstown as the crow flies, the driving distance was about 240km.
At one point we went through a tunnel that gained 100 feet of elevation inside the tunnel. It's one way, so there were traffic lights on either side, with about a 15 minute wait for a turn.

We stopped for lunch by Lake Te Anou, where Mike and I were able to take a helicopter ride. We were able to land on top one of the mountains. Most of the peaks were shrouded in clouds, this simply had to be one of the most amazing things I've done. It was one of those little helicopters which is basically a plastic bubble, so we could see in literally every direction, the arm of the lake below us, and the mountain peaks all around us. It had snowed in the mountains the night before, so there was a light dusting on the peaks. It was close to freezing at the top, but I hardly noticed the cold at all, it was so beautiful.

We got into the hotel about 4:30, so I took a short nap before dinner. At 8PM we boarded the steamship TS Earnslow for our cruise to dinner. This boat was built in 1912, and is still in original condition. Stokers fire up the engines just like they did years ago. She was originally the only access to Queenstown for numerous farms and small towns around the lake. Today, she is still the shortest way from Queenstown to the farm we visited for dinner. An hour by boat, or a 4-5 hour drive over unpaved roads.

After dinner, another sheep herding and shearing demo. This dog was trained to take commands by whistle, so the farmer and the dog could communicate after dark, or if they were separated on a hillside. The sheep graze in the high country, and are brought down for the winter. They use a helicopter to go up after the sheep, then driving them down the mountain. In the spring they reverse the process.

On the cruise back, we had a sing-a-long, arriving back at the hotel tired but happy just a little after midnight.