From Queenstown we headed to the Southwest corner of the Island to Fiordland National Park. We had hoped to do a multi-day backpack here (Tramping as the call it here) but we were stymied by the lack of a suitable route. Sparing the details, the trip we had thought we could do was not feasible (the Dept. of Conservation employee had failed to disclose that you would need a plane to pick you up at the end or else do a 10 day trip!)

Again we were not deterred and so we decided to just camp a few nights and do some day hiking in the area. The area is known for three things:

1. Beautiful, breathtaking scenery of moutains and fiords.
2. Generally gray and rainy weather.
3. A surplus of New Zealand's unofficial official mascot - Sandflies

We got loads of all three while we were here. We spent some time apart and I went off to do a long hike along the Kepler Track (another of New Zealand's "great walks" like the Tongariro Crossing). It was a beautiful and peaceful trail that I had mostly to myself.

The next day we spent the day driving and hiking along the Milford Road - which terminates at the parks most accessible Fiord - Milford Sound.

Our last night in the area the Sandflies were at their worst. Just stepping out of our car at our campground was near suicide as the little buggers would swarm to every availible square millimeter of flesh. Really - it was like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock picture. We ended up eating our dinner in the car. At one point we tried cracking the windows ever so slightly but soon I was more busy playing border patrol guard than I was eating. We even tried driving down the motorway with all the windows down to try to flush the fiends out, but the little dinks held on! Lisa was scrambling to swat them all.

Coming to a theater near you!

Milford Sound