Day 6: Routeburn Track / Milford Sound
We jumped out of bed at first light as our transport to Milford Sound was scheduled to pick us up at 11AM sharp. Luckily, Daylight Savings had just hit the day before giving us an extra hour of daylight in the morning. We made good time at reached the Divide by 10:45.
Sunrise start on the last leg of the Routeburn Track!
Farewell to the Routeburn Track – glad to walk it & glad to leave it
A word of advice to other trampers – you will crave a variety of food in the wilderness. Do NOT bring 6 packets of beef ramen and expect it to looking appetizing on Day 3. We had skipped breakfast both to make the bus in time, but also because the idea of eating yet more beef ramen turned our stomachs. We were shooting the breeze with another group of walkers who were also waiting for the bus, and they took pity on our poor tummies and happily shared their uneaten fruit bars and trail mix. I’m telling you, that was the best fucking fruit bar and trail mix I’ve ever had in my life.
Our bus picked us up – driven by a very jolly Aussie named Colin – and drove us to the boat, where Lindsay realized that she should have spent the extra $17 for an included lunch as there was no bar / canteen on board! Luckily, the boat did sell some cookies, and one of the other trampers we just met was a Canadian Angel who claimed she was allergic to everything in her lunch and gave us her food. God Bless Canadians.
Best. Lunch. Ever.
We had beautiful sunny weather for the rest of the cruise – lots of waterfalls and even a few seals!
Milford Sound – a fiord with many waterfalls
Seals! Rainbows!
Igor is happy to get drenched in order to get a good shot!
We had a long 4-hour drive back to Queenstown, with a brief stop in Te Anau for snacks (All the foods we could desire! It was Heaven!), and a DVD showing of The World’s Fastest Indian (Bio-flick about a guy from Invarcargill – which we’ll be passing through next week).
Street musicians in New Zealand have pianos! Anthony Hopkins stars as Bert Munro from Invercargill
We dropped off our rented sleeping bags and cooking gear with the tour operator and checked-in to our accommodations for the night – a hostel! The horror on Igor’s face when I told him where we were staying was priceless. After last night’s 4-person bunkbeds, you’d think the bar was set pretty low. He threatened to check us out, until he actually saw the private bedroom, and much-needed laundry facilities.
This is a hostel. Not the flea-motel Igor was fearing.
After uploading our pics and writing a few emails (while the New Zealand version of the Bachelor played in the background – which is just as delightfully stupid as the American version), we are once again signing off for the night.