This was the day I really wanted sunshine, and New Zealand delivered! We woke up to clear skies and a bit of frost and the forecast indicated the sunshine would continue and it would get a bit warmer.
Our schedule was to drive the Milford Road for 2 hours to meet our ship to cruise around Milford Sound (actually it’s a fjord) for 2 1/2 hours.
We decided to allocate 3 hours drive time just to be on the safe side.
We got underway and as we climbed into the Southern Alps we were in great spirits as we marvelled at the scenery. We came to an overlook and decided to pull over because there was a great view. When I got out of the car I noticed a Kea Parrot on the railing.
I was really hoping to see these birds. The Kea is the only mountain parrot in the world and is only found in New Zealand.
Kea Parrots are known for their destructive nature and they frequently chew the rubber bits off of cars, causing extensive damage if left to their own devices. As we got back in the car and were getting ready to leave we heard something on the roof. The Kea and hopped on to the top of our car and was up to no good.
We shoo’d him off and got on our way before he could cost us our deposit on the rental.
We arrived at the terminal to catch our cruise and got checked in
The weather continued to shine and we had an awesome time cruising around Milford Sound.
We really enjoyed the cruise and we enjoyed taking a leisurely drive back to Te Anau.
Tomorrow we drive to Invercargill. This will be the furthest south we get before turning back to drive up the east coast of the North Island.