Milford Sound, New Zealand

We’re home! Well, might as well wrap up our last few days in NZ. Our Aussie friends recommended we check out Milford Sound while we were in New Zealand so that was next on our list. We drove two hours from Te Anau to Milford Sound and passed all of about zero towns along the way. About a half hour out of Queenstown, Marshall figured out we wouldn’t have enough gas to get us all the way there, so we were praying for at least a horse (gas station) town to fill up. We found a few teeny tiny towns that didn’t have anything, then passed through a town called Athol and stopped at a café to ask how screwed we were. Luckily, there was a station about 20km down the road, so we were good to go. I bet Marshall would have felt like a real ‘Athol’ if we would have had to turn around and get gas in Queenstown though.

When we got to the hotel the receptionist said that we actually booked for the following night instead. Marshall and I looked at each other like “You’ve got to be kidding me!” We asked if they could switch the dates and thank god they had just one room left, although it was two single beds instead of one queen bed. The room wasn’t quite ready so we drove to the one and only café in Milford Sound which doubles as their tourist information center. The menu consists of about 5 things that are at least twice the price you’d pay anywhere else in NZ. I chose pizza to share with Tyson and Marshall had a meat pie. It was so good he actually went back for a second one. I remember having meat pies all the time for lunch when I lived in Australia so I told Marshall he had to try one at some point on this trip. He was so glad he did but wished he would have tried it two months ago so he could have been enjoying them all this time. Apparently they haven’t looked as appetizing when he’s found them at gas stations and restaurant counters that look like they’ve been sitting out all day/week.

We hopped back in the car and drove back to the hotel to get into our room. This hotel is massive relative to the size of the town and has accommodation ranging from camping spots to bunk beds in a dorm style room to riverside chalets. I bet you can guess which one we chose. Yup, that would be the riverside chalet. Had to go luxury for the ‘almost last day’ of our trip. It was a beautiful modern room next to the river and even had a bath tub for Tyson. Having a bath in the room has definitely been one of the luxuries we look for when possible. Something we took for granted back at home for sure. After scoping out the area we relaxed in the room and played with Tyson. That evening we grabbed dinner from the hotel restaurant and brought it back to our room. It was actually one of the best meals we’ve had in a long time. I had a tasty barley soup, Tyson had a yummy pasta dish and Marshall had his good ol’ bangers and mash which he’s grown to love through this trip. We watched the sunset over the mountains and listened to the river as we drifted to a well needed long nights sleep.

The next morning, we checked out and headed to the marina to catch a scenic cruise through the fjords. We were lucky to do it on a decent day, apparently it rains in Milford Sound around 200 days a year. When we got onboard they were serving a buffet lunch that had all kinds of delicious things. We just bought one plate and then just all shared the plate which ended up being more than enough food for all of us. Along the cruise we saw a ton of gorgeous waterfalls and even got to see about 30 seals hanging out on the rocks. The cruise went for about an hour and a half then we hopped back in the car and drove two hours back to the town of Te Anau. We even stayed at the same hotel we stayed at two days prior. Hey, when I can save a night of researching places to stay, I’ll take it!

Tyson has learned the word ‘park’ and always seems to remember where they all are. As soon as we got to the hotel they put us in the same room as last time and I think that triggered him to remember the park we went to a few times while we were there. Tyson wouldn’t stop saying “park, park, park” so of course we had to take him over to it to let that all out. By the time he was done playing it was around dinner time. The sweet and sour chicken from the Chinese restaurant we went to the other day sounded amazing so Marshall went and picked that up for Tyson and I after he dropped us off at the hotel. Marshall noticed that there was a new movie playing at the little theatre so he went out to dinner at a steakhouse and saw the movie while Tyson and I went to sleep. Only a few days before he starts back at work, so catching all the movies he can…even if they are Australian movies that (I bet) wouldn’t ever play in the States.

The next morning we checked out of the hotel and drove two hours back to Queenstown. We passed one tiny little town that was just barely big enough to have a little playground and pulled over so Tyson could stretch his legs and run around a bit. After about 15 minutes it started to rain so we got back in the car and made our way to our hotel. This hotel is by far the nicest one we’ve stayed at in New Zealand. I think it’s the only place we’ve stayed that’s actually called a hotel as opposed to a Motel, lol. Since this is our last day on the south island I figured we could go out with a bang. This place even had an indoor pool with a hot tub, and best of all a day spa! Sweet! Geee, I bet you’re wondering what we did over the next few hours. You guessed it! I spoiled myself with an hour massage while Marshall and Tyson splashed around in the pool and talked with other tourists on their honeymoons. As soon as I was done with my massage we had reservations to their super nice restaurant. Unfortunately, I had to show up all greasy (including my hair and face) from all the massage oil so I just snapped a few pictures of Marshall and Tyson. Haha! The food was bomb diggity though. I even had chocolate mousse for dessert.

The next day was our last and final day on this entire trip. We took a two hour flight to Auckland where we flew out of the next day. We spent the afternoon restructuring our bags for the flights and deciding what we were going to leave behind. I also spent a few hours applying for jobs and working on the blog. Not a super fun day, but very necessary. We actually looked forward to it since it meant we were super close to flying home and seeing our friends and family.

On the final day, we took three flights home with a total travel time of 30 hours from hotel shuttle to the drive to Marshall’s Mom’s house in Buckley, WA once we finally landed in Seattle. We were really hoping Tyson would get his own seat on all of the flights, but he was technically a ‘lap infant’, same as every other flight we’ve taken. Unfortunately, the first flight was a 3 hour flight to Fiji and we were told it was a completely full flight. Before takeoff, Marshall asked the flight attendant to let him know if there were any seats anywhere on the plane so he could sit there to give Tyson some room. Thankfully, there was 1, but it was in the very very back row ….with the seats that don’t decline….with no window…. literally 2 feet from the bathroom door that opened to his seat. Thanks babe!

We landed in Fiji at 4:30pm with our next flight leaving at 9:30, a FIVE hour layover. Best part was that the entire airport was being completely renovated, so we stayed in basically the basement with almost nothing to do. That was a pain, but we passed the time eating snacks and chasing Tyson around to wear him out for our next flight, the big mama 10 hour flight to LA. Marshall kept going to the service desk to see if we could get a seat for Tyson which was critical. Imagine having to hold a toddler for 10 hours through a red eye. Especially when Tyson just won’t go to sleep if you’re holding him. Marshall must have asked 10 different times and each time they said the flight was full. When the plane finally started to board, we handed them our tickets and asked, jokingly, one last time. The lady looked at us, raised her eyebrow, looked down at her screen, clicked a few buttons and SOMEHOW FOUND A FULL 4 SEAT ROW ABSOLUTELY EMPTY AND GAVE IT TO US. YESSSSSSSSSS!

Unfortunately, even though Tyson basically ran for 5 hours straight and had two whole seats to himself, he did decided to make this flight the absolute worst for every single person within 10 rows from us. After we boarded, he squirmed and complained more than any other flight combined. Once we buckled him in his car seat, he started to cry, loud wailing cry….for the next 3.5 hours straight. Worst. Flight. Ever! He finally fell asleep laying across both seats after we tried anything and everything to comfort him. He’s much taller than when we first flew out 6 months ago and is technically 3 airplane seats long apparently because Marshall had nowhere to sit. He spent the next 6 hours basically pacing the plane so Tyson and I could sleep. Thanks again babes!
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After that terrible flight, the LAX layover and flight to Seattle were a breeze and we ended up landing in Seattle around 7pm on Wednesday, October 14th. ‘Nuff said about that. The last 6 months have flown by and we have had the most amazing journey and are incredibly grateful. We are so excited to come home and start our next adventure!  
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