Day 82 Milford Sound, NZ

This morning we left early for a 6 hour ride into Milford Sound. The name is a misnomer as it is actually a fjord, and quite a grand one. We had a few stops along the way before boarding the boat that would take us out into this 14 mile long incredible fjord. There was a constant rain that we thought would severely diminish the quality of the cruise. The rain actually activated waterfalls at every turn as the water cascaded down the steep, lushly vegetated walls of this water filled canyon. While we would have preferred a bright sunny day, we were quite happy to see this stunning feature attraction of New Zealand spouting water from every crevice.
The steep walls of the fjord are covered with green vegetation until it becomes to steep or high to support the growth. As you float past the walls you are surprised by the height of the mountains on each side as they make you feel so small. This is clearly a special place.
Upon our return to the dock five of us boarded a helicopter for a flight back to Queenstown. The drive would take 6 hours while the flight only 45 minutes. As majestic as the fjord was the flight back to Queenstown was that exhilarating. With a low cloud cover as our ceiling we threaded our way back thru canyon after canyon, rising over ridges only to fall away toward the bottom of the next canyon. The rain initially added a interesting aspect to the flight as did the strong winds as we wondered if the weather was too bad to even fly. As we twisted and turned thru the canyons wondering if we would touch the walls and hoping to make it high enough to clear the oncoming ridges we were constantly amazed by the scenery unfolding beneath us. I hope the pictures we post do justice to the experience. I am just now able to swallow as my heart has found its way back into my chest and out of my throat. It helped that the pilot seemed unconcerned about anything that we were flying thru including the buffeting by the strong winds or the looming canyon walls. Just because I think he could tell we were new at this kind of ride he dropped quickly and banked hard over the water in a 270 degree turn before landing us 25 feet from our taxi that returned us to our hotel. The flight was breath taking and the views were gorgeous. This flight will be long remembered by all on board as will our cruise of Milford Sound.
Tomorrow Mt Cook, NZ

Tracy - (Guest Blogger) What’s the saying… some roads aren't meant to be traveled alone...after today I believe ‘roads’ can include skies as well! Like the Scooby Doo van, we climbed in our tour bus early this morning, heading toward a day of thrills an amusement park couldn’t provide. I can’t tell you how lucky we are to have such a delightful, animated guide for the whole of our trip. William allows us the freedom of not worrying about time, driving, eating, and much needed bathroom breaks making an amazing trip that much more incredible. With gigantic waterfalls and dramatic mountainsides I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Peter Jackson used a Fisher-Price camera to film Lord of the Rings; the scenery here speaks for itself. Our cruise turned out some spectacular pictures…that is if you could manage standing longer than a few seconds against the wind. As dad has so elegantly described our helicopter tour, I will tell you what we were really thinking……OH SHIT!!!! As a thrill seeker myself, rounding those corners and scaling the mountains the helicopter quickly felt like an oversized Jelly Bean floating through mid air. I would not have changed a single moment today; days like this remind me why I embrace my fears and try to live regret-free. Today will never be forgotten because I didn’t have to experience it alone; I was blessed to have shared it with my family.