Milford Sound

For those of you that have been patient enough to sit through our 6 week hiatus, then surprise! You'll now have a whole bunch (well, 3) posts to read at once! Our internet has been strangely limited in both Australia and New Zealand thus far, so we figured we would do our best to put up a quick post on the rare occassion we have a strong enough connection. In fact, this post is about what we did YESTERDAY...a blog first.

We spent the day in Milford Sound, which is on the SW coast of the south island. The entire region is comprised of giant fiords, inlets and mountains. We've heard from many that Milford Sound and the surrounding area is the most beautiful part of the island. While we are still partial to Mt. Cook, it was quite amazing. We were also lucky enough to get one of the rare sunny days (it rains over 250 days a year and the average rain accumulation is over 8 meters!), so we hopped on a boat and took a cruise around the sound. Not a whole lot of commentary to share here, so enjoy the photos! P.S. - sorry about all of the landscapes!

First impression:

Another surprise: a picture of the two of us together!

All that rain leads to many waterfalls, some complete with rainbows at the bottom.

Approaching the sound from the sea.

Again, because we are here at the end of the summer, only the glaciers are snowcapped...we can only imagine the beauty of these mountains in winter.

This photo is for Mike - he loves pictures of flags. In this case, complete with the glacier that formed the fiord in the background.

They call this section "Mirror Lake" - don't think an explanation is required.

And last (but not least?), Mike enjoying his morning boat ride (and flag!). Moreso than Alexis, who was freezing most of the time. Maybe Boston upon our return isn't the best idea...