Cruising Milford Sound and biking along the river

Thursday, March 16, 2017
Te Anau, South Island, New Zealand
Thu Mar 16
-we all slept soundly and decently late . We had leisurely breakfast and pack up. Laura and I took a final stroll through Queenstown to see Vudu Cafe and grab some arnica for my mysteriously ailing wrist. Slowly we were loaded up in the car and off for the 2 hour drive to Te Anau 
-the drive was scenic and uneventful. I a. Always stunned by how clear the NZ air is and how crisp the mountains look. We arrived Te Anau in the early afternoon and got settled in our new cottage. The boys went and fed the resident bunnies
-despite having no real activity for the day, the boys opted to stay home whole Laura and I went of and explored the lakeside walk and the town. 
-it was nice to be in a classic no-stoplight NZ small town and we surveyed the restaurants and shops. We then walked the other way around the lake towards the yacht club and bird sanctuary. We returned to the cottage after an hour or so. 
-we were able to convince the boys to join us to go find the Indian restaurant. Finn opted to return home to find food and meet us later. The three of us enjoyed a very yummy meal and tried to decide which restaurant we enjoyed more . It was a split vote. 
-on cue, Finn met us and we headed to the park to play on the flying fox which had dual lines for added fun. The boys had fun and we should have some fun pictures and video. 
-it started to get late and cooler as the sun went down. That coupled with the ever present sand flies sent us home for showers and bed. It had been a nice mellow travel day of rest after the big hike. 

Fri Mar 17
-I had moved the start time for our Milford Sound cruise to 11:10 but even so we needed to be rolling by 8:30. We got the crew up at 7:30 and with some prodding we got rolling basically on time with snacks and clothes and all the other things packed.
-the drive up was beautiful and the clouds seemed to be clearing which was nice. We were ahead of the tour buses so it was a pretty easy drive for Laura. 
-we got to the terminal with enough time to score the last parking place and fidget with gear. We headed over to the terminal and then onboard our boat. We were happy to learn that only 25 people would be onboard so there was lots of room and Laura and I scored choice seats on the bow
-it was sunny but cool with the wind generated by the boat. The scenery was similar to our Alaska cruise minus the glaciers. Ty, Laura and I enjoyed the scenery and took pictures. Finn meanwhile made the most of his experience by taking a nap. 
-the hostess from Sweden gave us hot cocoa and good advice about what to do with our last 4 unplanned days. The plan was coming together nicely
-the 2 hour cruise was perfect duration. We headed back to the car and started our way back with a number of stops planned
-first up was the Chasm to see water carved swirling rocks. Next we stopped at the pass for some stunning photos but sadly the mountain parrots had left. 
-next we stopped at the Divide where the Routeburn track exits. Laura and I decided to bang out a 2 hour hike up to Key Summit. The boys opted to stay in the car but Laura and I had a nice, if not hurried, hike to stretch out legs and see some views. 
-we made one more stop to take a picture of an alpine meadow with stunning mountains in the background. The sand flies descended on our photo shoot and we retreated to the car which was inundated as well . While we irradicated the car of these nasty pests. We agreed that would do as the final stop. 
-we returned to our cottage and headed to Indian of course. The friendly staff at Radhas were happy to see us and the food was yummy again. Off to bed after a day of adventure. 

Sat Mar 18
-we had a leisurely start to the morning but needed to rally to catch the Teheke feeding at 9:30. We had to hustle and barely made it. The sanctuary has 5 birds out of 300 remaining in the world. It was a strange experience to see almost 2% of a species all at once. The feeding was much better and more informative than we expected. 
-we took a more leisurely walk back to the cottage and Finn and Laura decided to go get breakfast out. Ty and I returned to the cottage for a simpler meal of cereal and time to get organized
-Finn and Laura were gone for a bit so we had to hustle to get rolling on our 4 hour hike ride. As usual I received a ton of teenage grief about making PBJs for the group. I would have done it but my wrist was still pretty much inoperative. 
-at last we walked to the bike shop where a very friendly Kiwi helped us get fitted for bikes. Ty just fit on a small adult bike so he got to enjoy good shocks and a full array of gears. The boys zoomed around a park on our way out of town and we could tell that it was going to be a fun adventure
-we rode by the bird sanctuary and the dam and then headed down the river . The river was amazingly pristine and unspoiled but th trail had more ups and downs than we expected. The kids handled the hills fine but Laura and I had our grumbles
-we stopped for picnics and water and in just over 1.5 hours we were at the end of the trail where fisherman were launching their small jet boats. The kids immediately flung of their shoes and were wading around and building fish traps. How Hawaiian!
-we had a nice long picnic and then peddled off for our return journey. Laura and I were left in the dust and agreed that the boys would have no trouble on our 4 day ride in the Netherlands his summer
-at right about the 4 hour mark we returned to the bike shop and thanked the proprietor. The boys played frisbee the whole way home and we returned to the cottage and debated about dinner choices
-we took a look at the pub-like place next door to Radhas but the power of Indian won. Finn went to the grocery store to get a chicken pie and salad fixings then joined us. 
-we had a yummy meal then Finn went home and made another yummy meal. We eventually all got to bed with full stomachs. 

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