Sneaky stow-away traveling in Milford Sound!

 
 
 
 

 

MILFORD SOUND, NEW ZEALAND

Day 6:

Leaving Queenstown at 6am, I was wrong in thinking that I would catch up on sleep on the bus.  The landscape was way too pretty at sunrise to even blink.  Two hours fifteen minutes later, I arrived in Te Anua with hopes of arranging a tour through Mitre Peak tours that would bus me out to Milford Sounds, put me on their boats and then bus me back.  I dropped my stuff at the YHA and headed for the Mitre bus only to watch it drive away without me.  I asked my original driver if there was anything I could do to catch it and he said I could go on his coach that was leaving in 20 mins.  He asked if I had already paid for the Mitre tour and I fibbed so that he wouldn’t charge me.  I hope he doesn’t read this.      

                The weather was gorgeous in Te Anua but worsened as we got closer to Milford Sound.  We made several stops along the way including Mirror Lake and the Chasms for small walking tours.   As we got closer to the Sounds, the driver made many announcements but singled me out in particular saying that he would personally take me to the Mitre company’s kiosk when we arrived so we could explain the mishap.  My heart was pounding and I thought of every possible scenario that would ensue.  When we arrived the driver made the grave mistake of dropping me off at the MILFORD bus company instead of MITRE.  He simply left me to sort it out and I quickly explained that I was at the wrong kiosk.  Crisis averted! 

It was raining at the Sound and I was disappointed.  We couldn’t see any mountain tops and I hadn’t thought to bring my poncho so it looked like it was going to be a soggy boat ride.  I was also stressed on how I was going to get back home since I didn’t have any bus ticket and would have to sneak around again.  I focused on the boat ride and it turns out that rain in Milford Sound is actually the best!  Waterfalls appear out of thin air and come rushing down the mountain side.  The clouds also add mystery to the existing mountains and show outlines of jagged mountains that lurk in the background.  Spooky but really pretty.  Mitre has smaller, more intimate boats that get closer to the waterfalls so I had a great experience even though I was freezing.  I know every picture is going to have that purple jacket in it since I’m always freaking cold!  I made good friends a few older individuals on the boat who really liked how white my teeth were and they offered to take me back to Te Anua in their car.  Jackpot!   

                On the way back, I got a little sick to my stomach and had a headache either from the elderly man taking corners on two wheels or from lack of food.  I had been too stingy with my eating budget and was physically hurting from all the crap snack foods I had eaten that day.  I found an Italian restaurant back in town and scarfed down a pizza and coke.  The coke was ‘good and cold’ and made everything better, as my mom, Peggles, always said it would.  I was shocked when I returned to the hostel and everyone was going to bed at 8:45.  The YHA Te Anau was quite different than the Base Hostel in Queenstown.  The people were less willing to chat and more willing to sleep in hopes of rejuvenating their adrenaline for the following day. 

               

Day 7:

I tried to sleep in but it’s no use in an 8 man hostel.  Everyone’s up and about much earlier than you and no ear plugs can block out a person who is trying to be quiet when they unzipper a bag one tooth at a time.  I had the morning free so I took my time on the computer and called Qantas to change my flight.  Two hours later, I had convinced them to just cancel my flight from NZ to Australia and just charge me the fee.  At one point, they were going to charge me $3400 to change it.  No chance. 

I found myself hungry at the grocery store where I spent 20 mins trying to decide what to buy for the three 3 meals I would need to eat before leaving town.  I didn’t want to overbuy.  Was it possible to just buy one slice of cheese?  The store catered toward backpackers though since I saw butter packets for 35 cents each.  I made a bad choice in buying salami, cream cheese and crackers for lunch.  Sri had introduced me to this snack but her version tasted much better. 

                I took a boat at 2pm to the glowworm caves of Te Anau.  I didn’t really know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised.  Our group arrived on an island where we followed a trail to the cave and then navigated our way through some passages that made you duck down to about 4 feet.  The water was rushing within the cave but it was pretty developed so we could climb around with ease.  Then we got on these small boats in complete darkness and our guide dragged us deeper into the caves by an overhanging clothesline.  There we sat in total darkness (and silence) and were surrounded by the romantic glow of the glowworms.  It was so magical.  I had never experienced anything like that and was really glad I did it.  Ideally, it would have been more enjoyable with someone significant but I enjoyed myself.  My new friend did too!  Yes, I made another.  A Russian girl named Maria who lived in NYC and had quit her job in advertising 9 months earlier in order to travel.  She was wearing some NYU pants and I struck up conversation.  She had been in India, Indonesia and Thailand so far and I could tell she was definitely at peace with herself.  She was smart, independent, frugal and calm.  She offered to take me to Wanaka next where she was staying at a friend’s place and I could crash there.  From there, we would head to the Fox glacier and all the way up to Abel Tasman.  I was psyched!  This girl was cool.  I have to say that she may have stopped talking to me if I hadn’t mentioned that I had a Russian love in my life- Jess Shtofmakher.  Maria doesn’t have the same passion for animal print, 4 inch high heels, US weekly or half marathons as my Jess so there will be no friend-replacing.  But I do have confidence that she’ll be a good travel companion for the South Island!