ON OUR OWN

We know that Milford can be breathtaking on a rare sunny day, with snow capped peaks displayed against the clear blue sky and reflections shimmering on the water, but in all travel, you just have to sometimes play the hand you were dealt. We were dealt rain. We all enjoyed the "Lord of the Rings" atmosphere we got to see, and glad we did the Milford.
That said, it is a long drive on winding roads. Nancy, whom we jokingly referred to (or not) as the management side of "The Tour Team", kept wanting to stop and see the sights, and the rain be damned! That is what we did, donning rain gear each time, and returning to the van like drowned rats. By the time we arrived in Te Anau, Nancy had redeemed herself with a happy hour party- to be held in the van- while a non imbibing Pete,drove another 2 hrs to Queenstown. They have different rules here in NZ.
It was the last night with The Tour Team, and after a short rest we all joined together for a farewell dinner at Avanti. We rehashed the good and the bad of the trip, but there really was no bad! We all laughed alot, had fun adventures,learned alot about a beautiful country, and stayed friends. What more could one ask. We gave hugs and and thank you's and wished Nancy and Pete well, as they return to Christchurch, and a dental appt. for
Pete, as he developed an abbess tooth a couple days ago. (Luckily we were in Queenstown and they found a dentist to treat him asap).
We six are now on our own for a few days. Stay tuned.