The Milford Road and Milford Sound

a friendly Kea or mountain parrot pearing through the windscreen
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It was a long journey but to see it for the first time is well worth the effort.  Booking a boat cruise in the afternoon left us plenty of time to enjoy the 120km world heritage stautus Milford Road.  We stopped at the Mirror Lakes, some fantastic waterfalls in the bush and the Homer tunnel was the most dramatic of road tunnels in the way that it cuts through snow covered mountains joining two valleys.  As for the Milford Sound itself, which unlike the one in Marlbourough is actually a fjord not a sound, was every bit as spectacular as I had hoped and we couldn't have seen it at a better time.  Consistent snow fall on the mountains over recent weeks including the previous night mean't that countless stunning waterfalls were everywhere.  The cruise was very special as the ship went right up alongside the rocks so much so we got a soaking from one of the falls.  Mum & I enjoyed a glass of champagne on deck to top off our great day together.