Milford Sound

So, after Dunedin we stopped in Queenstown for a night and then went to Milford Sound. On the drive, we actually had to stop so that Sheep could move outta the road...so awesome. Our trip down was really nice becasue the driver did commentary on the area and stopped so we could take pictures...by the way we have TONS of pictures but my computer crashed so We haven't been able to put them online, I wish I could show you all the crazy places we are! Milford Sound was great, thanks to all who suggested it! We stayed there for 2 nights. There isn't much built there which is cool. There is a lodge down there that has backpacker accommodation and it is pretty nice. The full day that we were there we went for a hike. Hiking in NZ is so differnt than the US. In the US there are always people and everything is marked so well. The hike we went on was to a valley And it was about a 3 hour hike in. It got to a point where it was pretty much just following a creek and walking through mud, climbing over trees, and trying to balance on rocks and logs. IT was really interesting and we didn't run into ANYONE. It was the closest longer hike to the lodge that you could get to without having a car but noone was there. The hike opened up into a valley where there was a gorgeous clean river coming down from the mountains! It was so nice except for the sandflies... I don't know if anyone knows what those are are but they are TERRIBLE. They hurt more than misquitoes and there are about 20 times the amount and then their bites itch jsut as much! Yuck! We ate a quick lunch and then hiked back. It was a nice day and then we were about to head to the restaurant and watch the rugby game. It's so nice being somewhere where rugby is on no matter what! Everyone is so excited about the cup so it creates a great atmosphere. On our final day in Milford we went on a cruise. Oh and we learned that Milford is actually not a sound it is a fiord. For anyone that cares, a sound is an inlet created by a river and a fiord is created by a glacier. Pretty cool! The cruise was great. We got to drink fresh water from a waterfall and see the whole area, we even saw a dolphin and seals! Very cool. Oh yeah! On our way to the Sound we saw a couple Kia's. They are a parrot looking bird and they attack EVERYTHING! The bird was so cool and big just hanging out on someone's car! It didn't even get off when they started driving. From Milford we headed to Queenstown!