'The Kea'

Early start this morning, we ended up having our our private tour to Milford Sound with Ray who runs the Birchwood Cottages here in Te Anau. We were very lucky today as the road into the Sound has been closed since Sunday due to a large avalanche that covered the road. Ray was telling us that it was 9 metres deep across the road and it was only opened again at midday today.

We left our accommodation at 8:20 am and headed out along the Milford Road, stopping regularly for photo opportunities. As we were the only passengers on his small 15 seat bus, Ray was pretty happy to stop and spend time wherever we wanted. He kepy us well informed and offered chocolates as incentives for us to answer questions about the area.

We arrived at the Sound (which is really a fiord) at around 12:15pm and boarded our small tour boat for a 2 hour tour around the Sound and out into the Tasman Sea. We saw dolphins, seals, penguins and plentry of waterfalls and mountains before heading back to the docks.

On the drive back, we made an impromptu stop not far before entering the tunnel when Ray spotted a couple of Keas playing on the side of the road. They seemed to like the attention, but I found them difficult to photograph from a distance with the white snow background. I had to zoom in close to get the colours so it didn't just end up being a black bird.

Mrs Rosewarne had made us a pumpkin soup for dinner tonight, so it's time to eat then an early night ready for our drive back to Wanaka tomorrow where we will meet up with local blippers Tussock Tales and acyclinggranny for a coffee blipmeet and our tour of the local area.