Life Through My Eyes: The Big Finale

I’m sitting in the Queenstown airport full of mixed emotions. At this exact day and time I will be home tomorrow. Time travel is a weird thing. It’s as if the world will pause for 21 hours and grant me the opportunity to reflect on these past two weeks. At this moment I feel a bit of sadness as we just said goodbye to our guides and travel mates. Soon I’ll be looking down at the sky and saying goodbye to this beautiful country. Thank you New Zealand. I’ll be returning home with a great deal of personal growth.

Before we head to the sky, I do need to tell you about the grand finale, Milford Sound. The Tui crew boarded the Milford Wanderer for an overnight cruise full of picturesque wildlife and landscape. Since the comforts of the cruise weren’t enough for us we all opted to disembark and walk a short section of the Milford Track. We quickly realized sandflies were not our friends and couldn’t wait to hop back on the Wanderer.

Cruising

Milford Sound Overnight Cruise

Boating over to walk Milford Track

James and I practicing proper sandfly protection!

The next morning we explored the world wonder from Kayaks. The biggest wonder of that adventure was the fact that all couples remained intact. Being strapped in a double Kayak in the middle of the water with your partner is a true testament to a relationship.

Cheese!

We got the heavy medical Kayak #stealingfitness

Since weather didn’t permit our Franz Josef Glacier Heli-Hike, we made up for it by doing a Milford Sound Heli. The fishbowl windows with the 360s views were like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. It took very few photos as I just sat there trying to take the moment in. The second the helicopter landed and I stepped onto Donne Glacier, the magic of the entire trip just radiated within me.

Heli on Donne Glacier

Group Shot

Hello World!

Tracy and I up front with a Matt photo bomb in the back

We did our last hike on the beautiful Routeburn Track and spent our final night at the Manapour Inn. Unfortunately Matt and Tracy couldn’t make the final evening, but having them live so close to us makes the sadness of leaving NZ a little less. Cheers to wonderful new friends. I can’t wait for the Napa reunion!