Milford Sound

We set off to Milford Sound, a fiord, which was about a 2 hour drive from Te Anau. On the way we stopped off at Mirror Lake and here we took the first 2 photos below. It really is like a mirror, but we both think the reflection part of the photo makes a prettier picture as the colour of the water makes the colour of the photo look brighter.

A little further on we stopped for lunch in view of the mountains and then carried on to just before Milford Sound where you go through a tunnel. Usually there's not too much to tell about a tunnel, but this one is a bit different from any we've been through before. It's hand-dug and as you approach it, it looks quite low and at first we wondered whether we were in fact supposed to go through, until we saw big coaches and trucks come past. Once you get in there it's really dark, with water pouring down the sides and you go down a steepish hill. With the combination of darkness, dripping water and the feeling of almost falling down the tunnel it made me think I was in an "Alice in Wonderland" type movie and Colin said it felt like a mining shaft. Either way, it felt a bit creepy and we were both relieved when we saw the light on the other side and got through there as quick as we could, but with the knowledge that what goes in has to come out.
At Milford Sound we were both amazed by how beautiful it was and we did all the walks while taking loads of photos still. I think the photos speak for themselves!
We came back through the dreaded tunnel, but it was fine this time and on the way back to Te Anau we jumped out at The Chasm without knowing really what was there. What we found was absolutely spectacular. It is the most beautiful river / waterfall / rock formation I've ever seen. It's hard to describe it, I won't even try and our photos also don't quite capture how amazing it looked, so we've taken videos instead (which unfortunately we can't share on here).
The rocks are all in weird and wonderful shapes and I spotted one that I thought looked like the form of a ladies body. I called Colin over to see it and didn't understand why he was reluctant to see my creative eye in action, and then he said: "Great, a dead body down there, just what we want to find."
From here we continued our drive back, stopping at various lookouts to get even more beautiful pics.
That night we again stayed in Te Anau and the next morening took photos of the lake with the same name. This day was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.