New Zealand - Christchurch Milford Sound

From Tasmania we had an early morning flight back to Melbourne and then onto Christchurch later in the day. We managed to secure a campervan rental for our time in New Zealand and were looking forward to travelling under our own steam again.....

We arrived in Christchurch in the early hours of the morning and made our way to Charlie B's Backpackers who thankfully had a 24hr porter. A few hours sleep and we were off to Freedom / Tui Campers to collect our home for the next 13 days. "Home" turned out to be an old long wheel base hightop Transit van with toilet / Shower, gas hob, fridge and even a microwave. Air Conditioning was provided in the form of opening windows........

We were soon on our way (if at a rather sedate pace) towards Mount Cook. We stopped at a few places on the way including The Church of the Good Shepherd where you get beautiful views over Lake Tekapo towards Mount Cook. Our first campsite adventure was in Twizel where we managed to cook and enjoy our first night in the van.

Mount Cook was a short drive in the morning for an invigorating walk into Hooker Valley over-looked by the peaks of Mount Cook (plus several more...). Back at the car park Louise found a duckling in distress and we spent sometime looking for its wayward family. Once located Louise bravely picked up the duckling (in a plastic bag to protect from human scent of course) and tried to reunite it with its parents and siblings. The following scene was hilarious as Louise hadn't banked on father duck not being too impressed at one of his babies being carried about by a giant human and he launched a frenzied attack much to Dean's amusement!! But don't worry, apart from being a bit shaken, Louise was fine and all 7 ducklings, mam & daddy (minus a few feathers) waddled off into the distance.

Back on the road again we managed the mammoth drive to Queenstown that afternoon (4 hours - 250kms) and got ourselves onto a modern but rather commercial site. This was only an over-night stop (more Queenstown later) and the next morning we vistied Queenstown briefly to explore the extreme sport options available to brave people and then we were on the road again towards Milford Sound.

Milford Sound (incorrectly named - it is actually a Fiord) is a deep valley back-filled by the Tasman Sea created in the ice age by a glacier. We were up early the next morning to take the first cruise of the day out onto the water and appreciate the morning views, tranquility, some seals and even a penguin!! The drive back from Milford Sound was slow, stopping to enjoy several lookouts, waterfalls and magnificent views along the way and even the odd 2 hours walk :o). We made it back to Queenstown in record time (not bad for a battered Transit van now aptly named "Zippy") and had a few deserved drinks.