I start the day with sending out some last e-mails and updating my blog, because I don’t know when I’ll be online again here at the end of the world. Ok, there are probably places much more remote, but if you need a satellite to go online I think you can call it almost the end of the world. Since I paid a lot to go online, I better make good use of it and I finish my work while having breakfast. It’s funny that just a simple thing as successfully sending out e-mails can feel like a victory when you have such slow internet.

When I’ve finished my work and blog I drive to the waterside. I’m happy I’ve taken care of all the stuff that needed to be done, so I don’t have to think about anymore today and can just enjoy the beautiful nature here.

I walk by the water side of Milford Sound for a while and the view is very pretty, though not as impressive as I had hoped for. Maybe my expectations were too high, but for example I enjoyed the Mavora lakes yesterday much more. I think about what to do next. I don’t feel like going on a crowded overpriced boat on the water, so I inform about the flights over the fjords. Unfortunately you need at least two people for that, so that’s not an option either. I just order a coffee and think I’ll slowly drive back to where I came from. I talk to some pilots sitting a table further and ask if they have flights planned today. The only option they have is a single flight to Queenstown, but then I’m stuck with my car here and they say it’ll be cloudy today anyway, so probably not the best day for flying. I’m glad I asked, because now I can travel further with a good feeling. It was nice to see Milford Sound, but I don’t need to stay here the whole day.

I drive back slower than I usually do and realize that the drive to Milford Sound is half of the beauty of the place. Just after a short drive I stop at a place called The Chasm. It’s a short hike through a forest with many waterfalls. I walk around and take several pictures before I continue the roadtrip. Driving so slow reminds me of a ride in an attraction park when I was a young child, where you could drive a car over a track with rails and see nice things as you went. I think road trips are like that for grown ups. You can drive slowly and enjoy the scenery and if you want more excitement, you just drive faster.

At a wide field surrounded by mountains I stop for a lunch break. I enjoy some delicious bread with cheese and jam. It’s nice how spending just a few dollars more can make such a difference and how you can enjoy a simple thing like really good bread. I drive back to the town Te Anau, where I have a another break for a cup of coffee and to read a book. I search at the map for a free camping place and find one on the South coast, about one and half hours driving and decide to go there.

What I like most about New Zealand is how many different landscape the countries has. Just half a day of driving shows so many different sceneries. The more South I go, the longer the roads get and the wider the views. I leave the snowy mountains behind me and drive to the more flat coast area. Just like the most north part of New Zealand is it here also quite departed. There are only a few small towns with a couple of houses on the road to the camping place. I arrive there about an hour before sunset. The camping place is right next to the beach, one of my favorite places to camp. I walk at the beach for a while and then bake myself some pancakes for dinner while watching the sunset. I end the day by watching a movie in the camper. It was a beautiful drive today and I’m glad I reached the south side. I’ll follow the coast tomorrow and will then go back North again.