Boats boats everywhere.

Okay I made a mistake. After the farm stay that wasn’t a farmstay but riddled with screaming kids I didn’t go to Wanaka but to Te Anau. Other town and much more busy.

The drive was easy. But the fact that gravel roads qualify as a normal road is strange for this over regulated Dutch girl.

Went to a airplane museum where for only 150 New Zealand dollar you could do a 15 minutes flight. In a tiny plane. I declined because A I like living, and B for 150 dollar I want something different then 15 minutes of pure torture.

Te Anau is a very very touristy place. That is because it is the gate way to Doubtful and Milford sound. Two fjords at the west coast and super touristy places.

Got at the B&B around 1, the owner who works the desk was a very good sales person, because I was supposed to only do Doubtful sound, but somehow I went on a glowworm tour that afternoon. And Milford sound two days later. Doubtful was already booked.

So Glowworm cave, with a boat over the lake to the other side of the lake where the cave is. In this cave there live small insect eating worms that glow to lure their prey. Normally the prey is small insects like the demon sandflies, but they are not bothered by eating their neighbor glowworm either. Luckily as a human I am way to big to be eaten by a glowworm, so I could enjoy the little buggers glowing away all over the walls and ceiling of this cave while sitting in a little boat. So that was boat number two. It was so beautiful I forgot to be scared of being on a small boat on water in a pitch dark cave with only glowworms to light me. And the other 11 people on the boat, but who is counting.

Leaving the cave was my first real encounter with the demon sandflies, small black spawn of hell flies that like to bite and drink your blood. They are worse then mosquito’s as in they attack at daytime and they really bite, the bite hurts and no warning first in the form of that annoying buzzing nope, a stealth attack going for your blood. Most unpleasant.

But luckily the big boat came soon to take everybody back to town, and on the lake there where no sandflies.

After that dinner at one of the very many local restaurants. Really that place must have a restaurant per permanent inhabitant.

Next day was early breakfast and off to the next little town by car to catch the first boat over a lake to Doubtful sound. After the boat (number 3) a bus ride over some very scary roads to the fjord where I got onto boat number 4. Doubtful sound is amazing. It is big, high, green, prehistoric and best of all, there where dolphins. A pod was just playing around. Only got seasick a little because big catamaran boat. And the weather was good. No rain but the perfect mix of sun and clouds to make it interesting. Once on the bus back to the boat over the lake ( number 5 even if it was the same as number 3). The rain started but hey inside so who cares.

Boatride number 5 was also pretty wet so stayed inside. Found my car again, what is harder then in sounds because there are a lot of blue Toyota rentals going around New Zealand this season.

Off to the bird sanctuary where they are breeding a very special bird. Can’t remember the name but there seem to be very very rare and special birds everywhere here in New Zealand.

After that trip went for some dinner at a place called the Ranche, country music, pool tables and food was okay, service was mediocre at best.

Day three was Milford Sound. Small minivan ride first to the sound, that was a long drive of about 2 hours.  On one of the stops on the way there was a kea, a mountain parrot. Smart bird that like to play and wreak stuff. This one wanted the rubber from around the windows and the antenna. The driver wasn’t amused, but couldn’t really do anything because birds are protected and the tourist he was transporting loved the bird.

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Then it was boat number 6. A high sailing like vessel, so not a catamaran close to the water but a real boat and on the second to third deck. I knew I was in trouble by then. But paid for the boat so on the boat I went. Milford is  less impressive in size but also very beautiful. No dolphins but seals, waterfalls and yes as expected a bit of seasickness. Didn’t have to puke but was hugging a railing at the back of the boat on the lowest deck I could get to, and so where some others. Glad I wasn’t the only one.

But will have to find some anti seasickness stuff before I go whale watching next week.

Drive back took even longer, the driver had some pretty spots to share. And we didn’t have to catch a boat anymore. He also stated that he doesnt want this picture to go anywhere on the internet. So if anybody knows how to find his instagram it was something with photography new zealand, his name is douglas thorne ( sorry but cant resist)

Once back in town went to see the movie about the sounds. That was a bit of a disappointment. The movie was okay, but the music was dreadful and the voice over was very hard to understand and a bit repetitive and not going in depth. So wasn’t really worth the money. But hey I had an evening to kill and the movie did just that.