Queenstown: There and Back Again

We actually did a day in Queenstown on the way to Milford Sound and after, since it's on the way but also where we were flying back to Wellington from, but it was easier to combine the photos into one post. Despite being the second biggest city in the south island, Queenstown was actually more like a large town for people coming to visit the lake and ski resorts. It's also the birthplace of the bungy jump, so a lot of people do that, but we opted out of it. Maybe some day I'll work up the courage... And the money...

It became a bit of a tradition to photograph Eddie every time we  pulled over to look at the views.

One of the prettiest drives, along Lake Wakatipu and more mountains, of course.

Enjoying some gelato in the sun on the first day of spring :)

Stand up paddleboarding! We were literally the only people doing any activities on the lake due to how cold it was! Everyone watching probably thought we were crazy, but we had fun nonetheless and none of us fell in!

The beautiful (and freezing) Lake Wakatipu.

The famous ice bar in Queenstown. Yummy cocktails served in glasses made of ice that we got to smash after we finished them! 

After driving for at least 30 minutes down a dark, narrow, winding road full of potholes and flanked with cattle, we were a bit sketched out upon arriving the previous night. But in the morning I think it's safe to say that this was the best sight we've woken up to at a campground.

Last morning of our trip spent in Queenstown!

The beautiful flight over the south island.

No better way to know we're getting close to Wellington than a ton of clouds. 

Land of the Fiords

Milford Sound was probably the single thing I was most excited to do during our trip, and I was definitely not disappointed. The actual sound as well as all the surrounding areas of Fiordland were some of the most beautiful landscapes I've seen, and probably will ever see in my life. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Car photos en route to Milford Sound. Some of the mountains were so high you couldn't even see their tops without sticking your head out the window.

We found this very friendly Kea at one of the stops where we pulled over to take some pictures.

Alexandra, you rebel :)

During our drive we stopped at The Chasm. It's hard to tell in the photo, but it was basically a big chasm of rocks with a bunch of water shooting through it. Definitely not something you see every day!

The view from our "kitchen" at our campsite near Milford Sound.

And the same view out the door the next morning.

Milford Sound in all it's glory. What better place to enjoy a nice cuppa? 

Milford Sound has a bunch of rocky cliffs with trees growing out of them. That's right, the plants grow out of rock with no top soil!  

It was a bit windy...

A cool waterfall that the boat drove under.

Having some fun despite the cold and wind.

Looking at the Sound from a distance. Right before Maria got trapped in a tree for about 10 minutes.

A short walk along this creek and waterfall area.

Key Summit was another highlight of the trip for all of us. After a steep climb of about an hour, we reached the "summit" which was actually a large flat area that had a little nature walk with views of all the surrounding mountains and valleys. 

Our second campsite in Fiordland. 

The next day we explored more of Fiordland.  

An old man noticed us looking a little bit lost once we were towards the end of the trail, so he gave us a lift to the lake, pictured in the photo below.

So serene... until Maria fell in the water.

Mountains and Glaciers and Lakes, Oh My!

Next, we made our way a bit south to glacier country. Kristen had a helicopter tour booked to go walk on the Franz Josef Glacier, but the rest of us aren't quite the die-hard glacier fans like she is, so we opted to do some walks around the bottom of the mountain.

Driving out of our campsite in the morning was a bit surreal.

A cool waterfall we played around in a bit on our walk to the glacier.

The Franz Josef Glacier! So sad that climate change has caused it to recede so much in recent years. 

The above three photos are from the campsite we stayed at in Mt. Aspiring National Park, on the way down to Wanaka. The campsite was on a little peninsula sticking out into the lake, so the whole campsite was surrounded on three sides with panoramic views of the lake and mountains. We arrived at sunset, and it was one of the best experiences of the trip.

The next day we did our longest hike of the trip, up to the top of Roy's Peak. It was a grueling climb up in the beating sun, but fortunately we had really great views of mountains and lakes the whole time. 

We also got to see a bunch of sheep! A lot of the trail actually goes through sheep pastures, so they actually walked on the trail. Seeing all the baby lambs was one of the best things about this day.

Alexandra doing some yoga on top of this peak near the top that we all took turns climbing for a photo op.

So exciting to actually reach the snow level at the top!

Chillin' at the top with a 360 degree view of all the surrounding lakes and mountains.