Flying over South Island the scenery is dramatic and beautiful.  We land in Queenstown, by Lake Wakatipu, the whole surrounded by mountains.  In contrast the next hire car is diminutive.  Methinks there will be a showdown with the terrain.  I hope the little car has stamina !

Reconfirming our booking to fly over to Milford Sound, the weather is declared good and we are back at the airport within the hour.  Checked in, briefed and ready for the off, the ridiculously young looking pilot invites me to share the cockpit in the Cessna.  Yay!  Don’t need asking twice.  The plane is very new and the flight pretty smooth.  I guess he IS old enough to fly then. 

High above the terrain, you really appreciate how recent this landscape is in geological terms.  It’s all textbook volcanic and ice age action.  The lake is a big ’S’ shape and even has a few islands.  Out of the clouds the ice and snow covered peak of Mount Alfred stands proud in the sunlight, revealing a glacier at its top.  No wonder they call them the Southern Alps.

The approach to Milford Sound airstrip is interesting.  It’s a long way down and I’m wondering how this will work.  A number of tight downward twists and turns make full use of the landscape like we’re heading down a helter-skelter.  But we land safely and disembark, some more relieved than others ! 

On the big ferry, the tourist cruise begins.  Milford Sound is a long, deep stretch of water, open to the sea.  The mountains fall straight down to the water, tree-lined to the surface.  We learn that trees root in the moss and algae on the rock face as there is no soil to speak of.  As they grow and get heavier, they fall, tearing out the moss all the way to the waterline.  That would explain the ‘scars’ then.  A few fur seals rest on some rocks.  I must be the only person who doesn’t consider them cute.  South Georgia cured me of that.  Their smell never leaves your memory.  A vertical crack in the side of the sound is highlighted to us as the meeting of two tectonic plates.  It doesn’t look much, but I’m not keen to be around when they decide to have a disagreement.

Our ferry takes us close to the infamous Stirling Falls for a closer look and we’re instantly soaked !  It’s beautiful, but I’m glad when we move on.  Having seen the sea, it’s disappointing to head back inland again, but that little airstrip calls. 

Our return flight to Queenstown is subtly different.  Ascending above the mountains, our route is altered, the cloud cover more dense.  Not being a pilot, I have no idea if that is significant, but there’s more turbulence.  Feeling as if you can reach out and touch the mountain tops, sudden lurches and drops are a teensy bit unnerving.  One very sharp bump and several of us drop cameras and phones.  Many raise their stress levels significantly in response.  For a few moments there is tension in the plane.  Drama over, the last 15 minutes or so along Lake Wakatipu are stunning. 

The flight over those mountains is a real highlight for me.  On the ground, in our apartment, we toast our lovely day with some Kiwi ‘Lighthouse’ gin.