Back on the early starts, with a 5.45am alarm call and a 90min drive to Milford Sound for our morning cruise along the fiord.

It rains over 200 days a year in this part of NZ, so it was no surprise when we arrived to find it wet and a little windy. Fortunately this didn’t last too long and by the time we set off at 8.45am the skies were starting to clear and visibility improved.

We had booked our boutique cruise and were pleasantly surprised when we boarded to find just 20 other people on the boat, providing us loads of space, along with plenty of coffee/tea and biscuits.

The good thing about rain in Milford Sound is that it then guarantees a greater number of waterfalls.

As the boat made its way along the fiord and we headed out towards the Tasman Sea, we went in search of the local sea life, notably penguins and seals and weren’t disappointed.

We had the most enjoyable time looking out for the wildlife as well as taking in the stunning scenery and the scale of the natural environment.

There are only two permanent waterfalls within the Milford Sound, with all the others being fuelled by regular rainfall, but can disappear within a hour of two when the rain dries up.

Along the infamous Seal rocks, we spotted you’ll never guess, but a seal basking in the sunshine.

As we slowly motored back to the Milford Sound terminal, we went to one of the two permanent waterfalls for a ‘shower’ and laughter!

The fog did start to descend as we ebbed back into the terminal but this didn’t stop our enjoyment of the morning cruise and we managed to grab a few more photos of the magnificent scenery as we returned into port.

As we walked back to the car, we came across more bird-life and found them to be incredibly beautiful.

After a great few hours in Milford Sound, we then made a monumental drive back to Kingston, past Queenstown and another brief stop at Arrowtown.

Our last drive took us from Arrowtown to Cardrona, a 25min journey, close to Mount Cardrona and the alpine ski resort.

Arriving into Cardrona, we headed to our night’s stay at the Cardrona Hotel, a traditional Victorian styled accommodation & restaurant.

After relaxing at the hotel, we walked down for dinner via the charming gardens and then enjoyed a great meal with drinks.

Tomorrow we have a short drive to Wanaka, another summer and winter resort where we plan to spend most of the day, before making our way late afternoon to the West Coast and on to Fox Glacier.