Milford Sound

This past weekend felt like a dream. Milford Sound is by far the most beautiful place i have ever seen. After a late drive Thursday night, we woke up early Friday morning and drove through the fog into the windy roads of Milford Sound. Everywhere you looked there were waterfalls running down the lush mountains that seemed to pop straight out of the ground.

Our first day we stopped at the Chasm and then headed down to the water to take a cruise out to the Tasman Sea. We got extremely lucky and had a gorgeous day on the water! After the jaw dropping views out on the boat we headed out for an afternoon hike up Key Summit. From the top we could see the three valleys that converged in the area. We also spotted Marian Lake from a distance and put that on the to-do list for our weekend.

After another pasta dinner under the stars and a few bedtime stories we hit the sack in preparation for a big day up Gertrude Saddle. The fog had settled in the valley when we started our hike up. The climb up to the saddle consisted of slippery rock faces, boot-skiing snow fields, and a series of glacial waterfalls. The view from the top was unreal. We all just sat and took it all in as the clouds made there way through the saddle.

That night we made another huge dinner, had a couple bottles of wine and played my new favorite game, GEORGE. Our group of ten consists of eight kids from St. Lawrence. It has been awesome being adopted by their clan, and I can't wait for three more months and many reunions to come. The next morning was April Fools. Much to my dismay I woke up as the boys collapsed our tent on us at the break of dawn. After a couple more pranks and a dip in the stream we headed out on our last hike of the weekend.

Taking the advice of my 'big brother' and New Zealand mentor, Chris Garren, we decided to explore Lake Marian. The trail up to the lake went along a raging stream, through the lush rainforest, and spit us out at the most stunning lake I have ever seen. The reflection was just as clear as the mountains themselves. We spent about 3 or 4 hours basking in the sun, snacking, swimming, and making massage trains after a long weekend in the mountains. Much to our dismay, we packed up and hit the road back for Dunedin.

On the way back we stopped for an impromptu fire on the shore of Lake Te Anau for sunset. That night the reality of my life started to set in. Like every other college kid in America, our group has adopted the mantra "YOLO" (you only live once). I can say for a fact that I'm practicing what I preach.