We're in New Zealand!!!!!

It feels good. It also feels cold.

We spent night one in Queenstown but left in the morning for Milford Sound. (Don't worry, we went back to Queenstown a few days later and took some photos.) 

I didn't know anything about Milford Sound before we got there but WOW was I motivated to learn once I took in some of the breathtaking scenery that made even this indoorsy girl just about burst into happy tears. 

One of the facts I learned in Milford Sound is that it's actually not a sound at all; it was named incorrectly back in the 1800s. Milford Sound is a fjord (or fiord, however you want to spell it), since it was a glacier, not a river, which carved out the valley that was then filled in by the sea. Hence, Milford is part of Fiordland National Park, an area that comprises 14 unique fjords and is the largest of NZ's 14 national parks. 

We stayed at the Milford Sound Lodge, which was easy to pick, since it's the only place to stay in the area. Needless to say, Milford Sound is very remote. Like, you need to plan out where you're getting gas because the closest fill station is 2+ hours away.

Thrilled* to wander around in a western grocery store again, we went shopping and brought all our food to Milford Sound with us. It was a smart move, since one place to stay means one place to eat means it was waaay overpriced. Plus, we were relieved to cook for ourselves again - even if we only made simple meals like pasta and croque monsieurs.

We chose to experience the majesty of Milford Sound in two very different ways. On our first day, we took a boat cruise on the fjord. The trip brought us all the way out to the Tasman Sea and then back to the harbor. From the boat, we were able to marvel at the overall scale of Milford Sound as well as spot seals and photograph countless waterfalls. 

Possibly the best way to describe Milford Sound is that it looks like the real-life version of The Land Before Time. When you're there, it hits you that Milford Sound looks today much like it did when it was discovered centuries ago. 

On our second and last morning in Milford, we went on a five hour kayaking expedition. It was a LOT of kayaking but somehow it was still worth it. This place is just that pretty. 

We were glad we decided to kayak as well as cruise, since the two experiences provided such different perspectives. In a kayak, what looked huge really feels huge. You're also much closer to the rocks and wildlife. A highlight of the entire few days was holding our breath as a few beefy bottlenose dolphins glided just below the water underneath our kayak. 

There's only one negative thing I can say about Milford Sound: holy moly it was FREEZING. We wore all our warmest gear and still shivered through both mornings. Thankfully it was sunny, but it would still take us a week to get used to mild temperatures again. 

*Just in case you don't know us, "thrilled" is not an overstatement. We love grocery stores.