New Zealand March 2004 ...Milford Sound and Queenstown...
My bus arrived at the harbor just in time for me to hop on the boat which would sleep about 30 that night. I met a couple Canadian river guides who had been leeching off a rafting company on North Island for about a month, an Australian lady who was biking around NZ, a German student, and three fellow San Franciscans amazingly enough. Two of them were traveling around the world and their friend had come out to visit them for 10 days. Ahhh... that's the life!! We anchored in Harrison cove about half way down the fjord.
As it began to rain that night, new waterfalls came to life for our viewing pleasure the next day.
Cruise director Julie McCoy took us for a spin around the cove and explained the eco-facts to us. Just watch out for tree avalanches! The sun did make a slight appearance too.
The bus ride back to Queenstown was beautiful through more glacial valley and back to the sun. Upon arriving at Queenstown, I snapped a photo of the Remarkables mountain range across the lake - the backdrop to many scenes in the Lord of the Rings. I also took one in the garden as the steamship was returning. The next day I went rafting on the Shotover river - at one point the raft goes through a dark 100 foot long tunnel and then shoots you out into a class IV rapid!
