Milford Sound, Catlin's Coast, Dunedin

One of the main things I was looking forward to on my trip of the South Island was a trip to Milford Sound. Milford Sound is thought to be New Zealand's most famous tourist destination as well as the 8th wonder of the world. We decided to take an organized tour that left out of Te Anau, the closest city to Milford Sound. When we were in Te Anau we stayed at a really nice holiday park that had a great kitchen, cable TV, and a fireplace that was always working. Rachel, Chrissie and I cooked an amazing steak dinner before relaxing in front of the fire to watch a movie. We were joined by a lovely Swiss couple that gave us slices of their cheesecake. It was a wonderful night. The next day, as we drove from Te Anau to Milford, we passed giant mountains filled with snow and beautiful lakes. The scenery on the drive was just beautiful. When we arrived in Milford we boarded our cruise boat for a 2 hour cruise throughout Milford Sound, all the way to the Tasman Sea. We saw gigantic waterfalls, towering cliffs, and seals! The first picture is of Mirror Lakes, the second is of Mitre Peak at Milford Sound, and the third is the group of girls on the cruise boat.




After our exciting trip to Milford Sound we continued driving south towards the Catlin's Coast, which is the southeastern coast of the South Island. It's known for its scenic coastline, so we would drive and stop periodically at different landmarks. Our first stop was Curio and Porpoise Bay, which is a petrified forest area that is home to penguins and dolphins. We also stopped at a bunch of waterfalls including MacLean Falls, Matai Falls and Purakaunui Falls as well as some beautiful beaches! We camped at a beautiful campsite at Purakaunui bay right by the beach. The next day we ended our driving tour of the Catlin's Coast by driving to the Nugget Point Lighthouse. before driving up to Dunedin.



The first thing we did when we got to Dunedin was visit the Cadbury World Factory. It is one of 18 Cadbury factories in the world. We did a tour and got to taste a ton of free chocolate. It was a lot of fun! In Dunedin I got to spend a lot of time with Daniel Kahn, a good friend from Year Course. He is studying at the University of Otago in Dunedin. It was so great to see him and he showed us all around Dunedin. We had a huge dinner at his apartment and had a great time!