So we woke up about 6am...got ready and rushed to the clock tower at Camp Street to wait for the bus which was leaving at 7am...we were booked on our Milford Sound tour with Kiwi Discovery... our bus departed about 710am...it was a cloudy and rainy day....there were mist covering most places along the way...we passed by Lake Wakatipu, which was South Island's 2nd largest lake...then we stopped at Lake Te Anau (NZ's 2nd largest lake) for breakfast...had steak and cheese pie and a hot chocolate with marshmallow...it was so bloody cold...i was wearing 4 layers and my breakfast barely warmed me up...bought some Wild Ferns product (one of NZ's skin care brand) thinking it was cheap...of course we were mistaken again...
Our next stop was at the MIrror Lakes....the lakes were pretty small but the water was so still that one can see clear images of the mountains on the lake...amazing!!! then we passed by more lakes and stopped at Monkey Creek...which was just before Homer Tunnel...there was a remnant of last year's avalanche...the snow was quite thick and my shoes got wet walking on the snow....we finally reached Milford Sound close to 1pm...it was raining and foggy....we boarded our cruise, the Milford Monarch, at 1pm....
We started our cruise in rain and fog...it really had the Middle Earth feel...even the cruise crew told us that it's the best weather to experience Milford Sound...the cruise lasted about 1 hour 45 mins...we headed out towards the Tasman Sea..although it was raining and freaking cold, we still went to the upper deck for photos...saw a couple (who looked and sounded like Singaporean) doing the Titanic scene on the deck...Cam was pretty envious...hehe...as we were on the way back, the sky cleared a bit and the fog lifted...so we managed to see the Mitre Peak, Mt Kimberley and more stuffs...we saw some seals on the rocks....the ship went very near the Stirling Falls and water was splashing onto us...but everyone was happily taking photos...
Then we saw some dolphins....i went to the toilet for a while and totally missed the blue penguins...when our cruise ended, it felt like we just returned from another world...Milford Sound is indeed a place worth visiting...would be nice if we could have spent more time there exploring the other places...then we got up our bus and headed back to Te Anau (which means the Lion in Maori)...we wanted to buy some fridge magnets but some girl on the bus told us the stuffs in Queenstown are a lot cheaper...on the bus, they were showing a movie called 'The World's Fastest Indian'...the view on the way back was better as the fog has lifted...but i felt a bit nauseated in the bus...finally we reached Queenstown at about 650pm...
Elena went back to the hostel to get the Wi-fi password while Cam and i checked out the price of souvenirs...the girl on the bus was right...stuffs in Queenstown were cheaper...then we went for dinner at PJ's fish and chips...Pia (a Chilean girl whom Elena met on the bus) joined us...the fish was good...after that, Elena went to get her hokey-pokey ice-cream and Pia dropped by at her backpacker...which was called Absoloot...Cam and I asked if there was vacancy as we only booked 2 nights at Alpine Lodge...Absoloot was a new joint...and they had vacancy for the 6-bedded dorm at NZD26 per night...and since Cam thought the receptionist Ryan, was cute...we booked our last night there...we met up with Juana & Alberto at Fergburger...then we headed for the World Bar where we got our IDs checked by the bouncer...it was happy hour when we were there...so the cocktails in teapots were half-priced at NZD8.50...so i had a pot of Smoochable (which i liked a lot coz it tasted like ice-cream soda)...Cam had Ruby Louby which i thought tasted a bit like medicine...Pia and Elena shared a pot of Tropicana which tasted like cough syrup...took us quite a while to finish a whole pot...
Then we got back to our hostel...and yes, i was still sober...but i felt itchy...and my whole body was red...perhaps i was allergic to alcohol after all...anyway, i bathed and took loratidine and the itch kinda subsided...at least i managed to sleep soundly...
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