Suvi and David around the world: Southern Loop, South Island

...And so to Queenstown on New Zealands South island for our first taste of winter since leaving the UK in January. Wow, its sooo cold here! I guess we'd got very acclimatised to the warmth and humidity of Asia - freezing nightime temperatures were a shock to the system.
We had a few days here trying to keep warm (our hostel provided us with hot water bottles), skiing/snowboarding and generally exploring the area before Mum and Dad flew in and the road trip could commence.
The last week has been spent driving 1200km through spectacular the Southern Mountains / lakes, the wild Catlins Coast before cruising amazing Milford Sound from our base in Te Anau.

Back on Qantas.....The Southern Alps appearing through the clouds as we descended into Queenstown.

Skimming stones on Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown.

Storm approaching over The Remarkables peaks.

Views towards the southern end of Lake Wakatipu.

We were already overdosing on spectaular scenery.

At Coronet Peak braving the cold. There was loads of fresh snow for us.

Lovin' the boarding again.

Exploring the lake shores & grabbing some excersise at the same time.

Full moon rising over The Remarkables.

Here come Mum and Dad....we stood at the end of the runway waving :-)

At the top of Queenstown gondola.

Remarkables senset.

First day of the road trip....Lindis Pass on our Easterly route out of Queenstown.

...no way to hurry in the Waitaki Valley....roads blocked.

Going nowhere fast in Oamaru Information centre.

Friendly seals at the beach.....

......but we came here to see the Yellow Eyed Penguin. Somehow this Penguin had climbed approx 50m to the cliff top.

Some intersting traffic hazards here.

Large balls on the beach - Moeraki Bolders....

.....Suvi is more interested in collecting shells though :-)

Dad porn - Dunedin Railway Station.

The Southern scenic route, Catlins coast - The lighthouse at Nugget Point complete with sheer cliffs and seals.

Some artsy long exposures in the gloom of the valley - Purakaunui Falls.

Cool and damp - Southern Rain forests.

Toetoes Bay - this is about as south as you can get on the N.Z mainland.

4 million people here - 40 million sheep! Here is just a few :-)

Planning our Milford Sound trip with our coffee whilst taking in a lake view at Te Anau.

En-route to Milford Sound - 120km drive to get there - with lots of scenic stops on the way.

The road had just re-opened after 10 days of closure due to avalances.....lots and lots of snow!

The Chasm.

Despite the gloom, Milford Sound was awesome. The waterfall in the background here is a mere 145m high.

Dad sheltering whilst fellow cruisers in full wet weather gear brave the elements....it was pretty wet here! Milford Sound averages 7m rainfall every year.