FULL DISCLOSURE:
My posts are a few weeks behind real-time. At this rate, I don’t think I’ll ever be writing in present tense. I’m doing my best to catch up though.
This is going to be a short one anyway because my time in Te Anau was brief.
The town was incredibly small. It was more of a pit stop for people preparing for the great walks or doing tours in the Milford/Doubtful Sounds.
That was me.
I had to get on the road by 6am to catch my 9am boat cruise. I was prepared for rain because, you know, that was the new norm. I was not prepared for snow, which is what I encountered about 30 minutes into the drive.
The first official day of summer was like a week away and it was legit snowing. I didn’t pack for this, guys.
There probably would’ve been some awesome views along the way but visibility was low. There was an intense one-way tunnel that went through a mountain and joined a windy road down. That’s the area where the snow was heaviest, of course.
I arrived at the car park with some time to spare. I checked in and snapped a few pics.
Everybody raves about the beauty of Milford Sound, which is really a fiord because it’s been glacially carved as opposed to being formed by a river. I could totally see it. But it’d be ideal under better conditions.
[Is this blog only weather complaints now? Sad.]
I was still excited about the trip. It was just a 2-hour cruise, but seeing things from the water is always a unique perspective. Plus there was the added bonus of a hot breakfast.
I loaded up my tray with an insane amount of food. Eggs, sausage, bacon, quiche, hash browns, yogurt and granola, toast, juice. You’d think I hadn’t eaten in a few days. And I destroyed it all before we were barely away from the dock. This honestly might’ve been the best part of my day, which is also kind of sad.
The upside to all of the recent rain was that the waterfalls streaming off the mountains were looking good. Some of the peaks were hidden by the low-hanging clouds — a familiar moody vibe.
What wasn’t hidden was all of the other cruise boats. They had the departure schedule staggered alright, but there was always another vessel in sight. I suppose you can’t really do much about that.
The ride was surprisingly calm on the way out. Frigid being on the deck though. We had a false alarm of a dolphin sighting, which kept my no-interesting-marine-life-spotted streak alive.
We got out to the Tasman Sea and turned around. That’s when things got real. The wind was whipping fiercely and the rain picked up. It was like a video of a weatherman reporting during a hurricane. There were times where I was leaning diagonally to not be blown away. I nearly donated my hat to the sound on a few occasions as well.
The skipper sailed us right up next to a waterfall and two fur seals on a rock (you’re a dime a dozen, fur seals) and then we were docked. It happened quickly.
I drove away feeling like I missed out on the majesty of Milford. I didn’t like that outlook so was happy I’d be returning soon when Zack and Hannah came to visit. A chance for redemption.
On the way back, there was traffic. Odd.
I thought it was just the queue for the tunnel but this was well before the mountain climb up to it. Accident? Plowing? I wasn’t sure what was going on but ended up falling asleep in the car…for 45 minutes. I woke up in a daze and we still hadn’t moved. So weird.
Don’t worry, I wasn’t stuck there forever. We started going after an hour and a half. The reason why remains a mystery.
Will I ever find the answer?
Will the second trip be better?
WILL THE TOWN BE SAVED FROM THE POISONED WATER?!?
FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON BUCK…
Random college short film reference.
The end.