On the trail of a hobbit....

LONG, LONG, Long, long day!!!! But, a GREAT day! After gorging on The Dairy's fabulous pancakes and crispy bacon, we said our "see ya's until the next time" to our new friends in Queenstown. We packed up and headed south, then west, and then north...... Yep, that's what you gotta do to get to The Milford Sound! I must say that the drive was one of the most stunning that I have ever experienced! The wild flowers were outrageous! The crystal clear aqua colored rivers and lakes were dazzling! The number of waterfalls we saw.....I wouldn't even try to guess! The people that either fly over from Queenstown and then get on a boat or the ones that only see Milford by air are truly missing IT! Truly magnificent! Barry was a trooper (once again!) maneuvering those one lane curves and bridges....and stopping each time I "had" to have a photo. We loved the cruise part, too. It did rain lightly for a while we were cruising...but it was no big deal. Now, when the wind started pushing the boat around.....I could have done without that! We love our new home...The Fiordland Lodge. It looks like it was picked up by a tornado from Montana and dropped in New Zealand in a most perfect place. It is the only Orvis endorsed lodge in NZ. Our dinner tonight was one of the best, if not the best we have had in NZ! I saw the chef run to the garden twice during dinner to get ingredients! Wow!!! There was one BIG problem.....I am, once again, a week late seeing The Hobbit being filmed! Peter Jackson was here last week. Sir Ian McKellan (Gandalf) will be here next week filming as will Andy Serkis ( Gollum) in a couple of days! Shoot! I understand they are shooting this week up close to Mt. Cook...where we were 6 days ago!!!!