New Zealand: Milford Sound and Key Summit

Our journey continued with a visit to Milford Sound.  Milford Sound is actually a fjord and was formed by glaciers cutting through the rock.  The rock faces surrounding the sound rise up to 6,700 feet and the   water goes as deep as 1,600 feet.  Everything was unbelievably large and beautiful.

The best way to see Milford Sound is by boat so we took a two hour tour around the sound and took in all the beauty.  We went nice and early before the coach buses from Queenstown arrived and the boats filled up.

This waterfall is three times the size of Niagara Falls but it is hard to tell because everything else is so large.

Seals sunning on the rocks.

One the other side of the sound was another group of seals

They took us up close to this waterfall 

Very small waterfalls and beautiful turquoise water 

That boat looks so small compared to the tall cliffs

Loving Milford Sound!

 
With the rest of the afternoon free we headed to Key Summit to hike.  The trail was steep but not too long.  When we reached the Summit we were rewarded with views of the valley below and Lake Marion.  Derek heard about an unmarked trail that would take us along the ridge of the mountain to views of a few more lakes so we gave it a try.  There was almost no one else on this path so it was like we had the whole mountain to ourselves.

Derek is ready to hike!

Have you ever seen a port-o-potty with a better view?

"The hills are alive...."  Sorry, wrong country. 

We had this view all to ourselves.  I could have sat there all day.

Lake Fergus and Lake Gunn

Lake Mckellar

Derek with Lake Marion

Headed back down the mountain. Hiking is easy when you can enjoy this scenery the whole time.

With every day we thought the scenery couldn't be any prettier but time and time again we were proved wrong.  It was was an exhausting day but completely worth it!