Stream, Fox Glacier, South Island, New Zealand Photo by Barry Epstein
Family at Lake Wanaka Photo by Ryan Epstein
town is located on Lake Te Anau which exhibited dazzling sunsets. The road to the Milford Sound was closed due to safety issues and reading the local newspaper, the tour operators were quite upset at the frequent closures during and after rain. So we drove about 1 hour North on the MIlford road and turned off before the road closure and drove on gravel for about 12 miles( 20 km). There are several hiking trails off of this road and the one we took was quite difficult as it was vertical but at the end allowed us to see a nice waterfall.
The road closure had created havoc for the Milford Sound cruises. Fortunately, we had previously booked the less touristy but more remote and adventurous Doubtful Sound Cruise that operates in rain or shine and, we understand that there is less risk of being cancelled due to road closure. After being picked up at our hotel in the morning by a bus, we were taken to Lake Manapouri and boarded a 45 minute boat ride to the other side of this exquisite lake. After a brief and not too interesting tour of the power station we boarded a bus that took us on a 45 minute ride up and over the Wilmont Pass.
Although the rain was heavy, we were able to see
Sunset Panorama, Lake TeAnau, South Island, New Zealand Photo by Barry Epstein
the most incredible waterfalls during this 45 minute segment of the trip. The boat ride was around 3 hours and the heavy rain prevented us from seeing the real beauty of the �ords but we did see spectacular water falls. The boat did go out into the ocean which was a bit too rough for my liking. Unlike the crystal clear lakes, the water was stained brown with dark tannins from the forest. When the boat returned to the dock everyone lined up to get off. We were on the upper deck and I threw up big time and very loud. I had no exit strategy as there
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