Several folks had told us that the drive to Milford Sound was better than the sound itself. So, we researched some places to stop along the way. The first part of the drive took us along Lake Te Anau. We stopped at the Station at the far end of the lake. We then found a turn off to the river for a quick photo moment. Eglinton Valley was the next stop which seemed to also be popular with the tourist busses. But the view along the green valley to the tall mountains was beautiful. Then we stopped at Mirror Lakes for a stroll along the reflecting pools. Next, we stopped in the Fiordland National park and walked a loop trail through beautiful old growth Beech Trees to Gunn Lake and back to stretch our legs a bit. Next, “The Divide”, where Mount Christina split an ancient glacier into two arms. This is also a starting point for many of the trails in the national park. We stopped at Falls Creek to enjoy the beautiful water falls. The clouds started to move in and we were getting small amounts of drizzle. Next stop was at Monkey Creek where a Kea decided to try and eat our motorhome! When Leslie tried to stop him, he decided to try and eat her cell phone instead! Last stop was at the Chasm. This is a water cut narrow passage. Unfortunately, this area experienced a storm in 2018 that dropped 9 feet of water in three days which wiped out the bridges going over the Chasm, so you really could not see down into the cut. Disappointing. We then pulled into the Milford Lodge where we have a site for the next two nights. We had just finished getting set up when the rain came. It rained all the rest of the day along with strong winds. Around 5:30 we braved the downpour to make it into the lodge where we had Valentine’s Night dinner reservations. We started at the bar, but found we were having to teach the bartenders how to make vodka and gin martinis. Then went into the Pio Pio restaurant for dinner. We had local Green Lip mussels for the appetizer, Leslie had the Duck and David the Lamb for our mains, and then Crème Brûlèe for dessert. All accompanied by local wines. A wonderful meal in a very remote place. By now the rain had turned into a torrent as we walked back to our motorhome.
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| Lake Te Anau |
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| Elington Fields |
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| Mirror Lakes |
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| Mirror Lakes |
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| Cascade Creek loop trail through the old Beech Trees |
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| Lake Gunn |
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| Hollyford Valley |
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| Falls Creek |
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| Falls Creek |
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| Falls Creek |
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| Monkey Creek |
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| Kea that tried to eat our motorhome |
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| Milford Lodge Site |
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