Milford Sound - Invercargill

We headed off at 10 that morning and Jess decided to join us for a bit as well...

The van was an automatic so it took a while for us to get used to it and have your clutch foot doing nothing, and because it was an automatic we soon found out that it was like driving a tank especially seeing the south island is very mountainous and hilly! so we maxed about 10mph going uphill....

The weather was freezing compared to what we have been used to - a mere 10-12 degrees..so sleeping in the van was going to be fun... Basically we got the van for about 17euro a day and in it you have your standard gas cooker, lights fridge, cupboard space for groceries and everything then doubles up as a dining room, living room, kitchen and bedroom... oh and it was tastefully done with purple sofa covers and red curtains!!

On our way down to Milford sound the roads were mostly through mountains all with snow on them and everywhere you looked was a postcard picture - the scenery was just beautiful.
One of the creeks we passed through was Monkey Creek, so yes Paula we had to take a picture for you...and we manager to find loos as well along the way!!

the roads to Milford sound were mad, basically up one side of the mountain to come down the other with a tunnel along the way aptly named "Homer Tunnel"..which did freak me out slightly as i was driving this part!

We arrived in Milford Sound and booked our tour for the following day on one of the smaller boats as apparently they get closer to the waterfalls! We checked into the only lodge up there and while Jess got her room we plugged ourselves in and got started cooking our dinner in the van, which was grand as it heats the place up nicely!

It didnt stay that way though and that night was the coldest ever, we were both freezing and were glad when morning finally arrived. The trip out on the boat was fab and it had been a special day for Ger as he was missing his first dubs match in a long time so the jersey was worn as a mark of respect...

they took us in and around the waterfalls and it was a great clear day so well worth with..

We got on the road after our boat trip and were headed further south towards Invercargill via Te Anau to check out Burt Monroe's bike that apparently was being stored for display in a hardware store in Invercargill. Burt Monroe was the man upon which the movie "the fastest indian in the world" was based. Basically he had a passion for bikes and when he was about 80 he decided he wanted to race his indian bike in a famous race in the states and break the world record. The movie is great for anyone who hasnt seen it.. very funny as well and in the end he does what he set out to do, great true story and so becasue we were passing through we thought we would go visit it!

We stayed the night at Invercargill then before setting off around the southern coast to drive through the famous Catlins....