NZ Part 9 - Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit

Traveling with eight kids is always an adventure, but the real battle is, without a doubt, FOOD. You feed them one meal and, like clockwork, just a few hours later they're asking for another meal. With all the driving we found the easiest option most of the time was to stop at what they call a Takeaway. Every town had one and the menu was almost always the same. Fish and chips, fried chicken sandwich, fried onions, fried squid, fried oysters. You get the point. I love fish and chips and would say I could eat it everyday but when you actually do eat it everyday it wears on you a little. Especially since our experiences with fish and chips had greatly diminished since coming to the South Island (sorry South Islanders). It got to the point that the kids begged for anything not fried.

When I started talking about this trip twenty years ago, Milford Sound was always on the list. It's a magical fjord surrounded by steep cliffs, cascading waterfalls, and lush rainforests. The closest accommodations we could find for a party of ten were three hours away. So in the morning we packed up and did all the dishes like a good AirBnb guest and set off for our boat. Somehow, in our time calculations we failed to leave any time for lunch. I figured this was a small sacrifice to experience what many people call the "eighth wonder of the world". I was wrong. Crabby kids have a way of ruining even the most magical of experiences. We were in a place of awe and grandeur but there were more ughs and groans coming from our party. To be fair, it was my fault. So I eventually figured out there was food on board and was able to salvage the second half of the trip. We had a little feast, of mostly fried food, on the top deck and everyone started feeling much better. I think they'll remember the fries more than the cliffs but we took enough pictures to convince them it was fun.

After our tour of the Sound, we found the only restaurant in the area that was open. Restaurant would be a bit of a stretch since it was more like a glorified gas station. We decided to change it up with chicken tenders and fries this time. I think they cooked it in the same oil though so it tasted an awful lot like fish and chips.


Milford Sound looking majestic and magical.

They say it rains here 250 days a year, so sunshine was unusual and unexpected.



Our spot on the top deck.


Waterfalls. It's hard to get the scale from a picture but the cliff faces are thousands of feet high.

The boat would pull right up next to the cliffs because they go straight down just as far into the water as above.






Milford Sound foreshore walk.





A Kea, New Zealand native parrot.

Lupine in the mountains.

Kids in the lupine.




They're taking the Hobbits to Isengard.

He was tall, with a noble and fair face, and yet with the bearing of one who had long been accustomed to hardship. His cloak was worn, his boots muddy, and his hands rough from the use of sword and bow.

A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.

The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.

A Moa, large flightless bird native to New Zealand but now extinct.





Ringing in the New Year with our favorite Kiwi soda, L&P. Plus some Fanta for contrast.






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