Near the end of our trip, we spent a day driving to Milford Sound and back. We have wanted to go there for a long time, and especially to see the Homer Tunnel, which is part of the highway going out to Milford.
We started out around 9:00 from Te Anau, where we had spent the night with some friends. There were low clouds; we could see the water of Lake Te Anau, and the lower slopes of the mountains.
As we drove on, the clouds thinned little by little, and we caught glimpses of the towering mountains lining both sides of the road.
This valley with farmland opened up as we came over one hill. Most of the way, we drove through a valley with mountains fairly close on either side.
Lake Te Anau is long! I think this is near the end where the highway goes away from the lake shore.
After about an hour of driving, we left the farmland behind completely and were driving through wild country.
This is the Eglinton Valley, where we stopped at a pull-off for a few minutes.
The weather soon closed in again.
We stopped at another pull-off to swap drivers. This would have been about an hour and a half after leaving, just before we reached the Homer Tunnel. There was a beautiful little creek, and a lot of interesting vegetation.
…to be continued. After my first sorting, I got down to 141 pictures for this day. I got that reduced to around 120—still too many for one post!
I’ve enjoyed following your trip, and this is no exception. The 5th photo (with mountain, lake and the cloud layer) is gorgeous and frameable. Thanks for sharing! -R
I especially liked that one, too!
What a wonderful trip! Your pictures and narrative really make me want to visit.
That last picture, big brothers taking good care of their little sister. Very sweet!