Oh my oh my, where to start? Perhaps 14,000 years ago when glaciers carved these fjords? Or 85 million years ago when New Zealand was torn away from Gondwana? Yes, let's start there. This separation occurred as a result of tectonic plate movements, which caused a rift to form and eventually led to the creation of the Tasman Sea. Then the Australian tectonic plate and the Pacific Plate collide along the Alpine Fault, a major geological feature. This collision is responsible for the uplift and formation of the Southern Alps.

Need deeply to explain to you, dear reader, that a 'fjord' is made by glacial erosion and a 'sound' by river erosion. Milford Sound was made by glacial erosion, so Captain Cook had a bad day in the office when he named it. We are jumping into a Cessna Caravan to get us there and en route check out the mountains 'up close'. The Cessna sales website says about the Caravan: The powerful, efficient, dependable 675-horsepower PT6A-114A turbine engine gives the Caravan® turboprop its exceptional payload capabilities. Mmmmm...

Ever been reassured by a life jacket under your seat? Today I was, because the only place to land (other than the Milford Airport) would be on water, not that there is much of that en route. I would say it is a once in a lifetime experience, but we would be coming back to Queenstown in the same aircraft.

Eleven we were on that plane, including Alan, the pilot. He asked for a volunteer to sit beside him. We rose to 2,030 meters but this was not as high as some of the peaks, which Alan steered around, letting us get up close to the ice. A window seat for everyone.

Next thing we landed on the small strip at Milford Sound and were whisked off to a catamaran for a jolly on the waters. The boat can approach the rock very closely because the sheer face simply continues underwater. So we can all get sprinkled with water falling hundreds of feet in a gentle misty rain and taste it, thawed and freed but moments ago, from millennia upon millennia of being frozen in a glacier.

Great weather for this journey, Sunshine and hardly any wind at all. Here at sea level, the mountains are covered by a rain forest environ, right down to the sea, albeit with a tidal variance of about six feet. Today's score Seals 6 Penguins 1.

Ice on the tops of the mountains receding during Summer, this region becomes a skiing resort in winter.

Nice to meet a couple from Melbourne and share travelling stories and photography ideas. The pictures of Liz and me were taken by them and they may one day, read this thank you. On that subject; thank you Mary for the heads up about banoffee yoghurts and also Alison and Barry for the tip to stay where we are, the St James Apartments which are great and so well positioned.

Enough from me today, we flew back by a slightly different route and were all happy to have our feet on the ground. Tomorrow we will go gold digging in an escape room!