January 3, 2025 - Milford Sound & Wanaka

It’s quite apparent why Peter Jackson chose New Zealand for his Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Its mountains are not just majestic, but both sharp and circular within one range.  The Sawtooth Mountains are, well, sharp.  The Sierras are grand and steep.  Here, the mountains are varied in shape and height and we can see why Jackson felt they resembled “Middle-earth”.






Note the tiny white dot on the left side of the larger image. That spec of a dot at the base of the mountain in a fairly large ship.  Does this give you an idea of the magnitude of these mountains?  Some rise over 6-7000 feet above our heads (on the ocean in Milford Sound)!


So, a funny thing happened today.  As we were driving to Milford Sound, Mel pulled over into a lookout area.  It was drizzling so I did a quick photo shoot….


I quickly jumped back in the car and heard a thud on the roof of the car.  I wish I had an image of Mel’s face!  Instead, this is what happened!!


We have a great video that will have to wait until we are back.  Our new best friend didn’t want to get off the car, followed Mel to his side of the car when he wanted to get in, and we finally had to drive away with the bird still on our roof!  



Remember those pies I talked about yesterday, these were equally incredible.



Our 5 hour ride from Milford Sound to Wanaka was drizzly and rainy, but the flowers were amazing!  Lupins in so many different shades of purple, pink, and yellow.  Add a large quantity of sheep and it made for a breathtaking ride!





We also happened to see an unknown type of bird sitting on two eggs.  We have not been able to identify what type of bird, so unless any of you are good at this, we will find out when we meet the ornithologist on the ship.  




Last tidbit for the evening:  The area we are in now is known for both Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.  I (Jody) of course had to try a glass (which turned into two!) and must say, it was incredibly delicious.  :-)


 We are wine tasting on Sunday and can’t wait!











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