Been up since 02;30 catching up on paperwork etc but 05;00 came and decided it was time to rest.  07:00 arrived and with an effort made a hot drink and got up.  08:00, time for our fried eggs and bagel breakfast which we had planned to have at 6:00 on route.  Oh well,  nothing set in stone until tomorrow so we can relax and take it easy. 

Water, we need water

Garston, the most inland town in the South Island consisting of a few houses, a restaurant, park,  school and an elusive water fountain, which apparently was in the park near the amenities. We used the amenities but had trouble locating the fresh water sauce.  Just about to leave and we spotted an old tap on the outside of the café.  As it didn’t look fit for human consumption we asked inside and were assured it was all good. 9.6L later and we had enough for all  our needs, especially as we still 7L of fresh water on board the Sandd Van.

The Elements of kissing

Forest walk number 123 found us arrive at Lake Mistletoe where there what looked like four Canadian Geese. This was ironic as we were joined on the boardwalk by a Canadian couple who had just done a one day cruise around Milford Sounds.  They said we’d love the view as we travel in tomorrow morning.  They went on their way and we stayed to play.  We have been lacking in physio and gym work,  so it was t time to do some pull-ups on a hanging branch then kiss the floor and get some press-ups in.  Some leg stretching as well and we should be for enough for our five-hour strenuous activity tomorrow. All that exercise and it was time for cheese and onion wraps.

The Thirsty Green Dragon

Cruising our way to the final destination for today, we cane across even more land that looked like it was inhabited by hobits. 

We stopped for  a look and were sure we could here a song being sung in the long green grass through the valley. 

“Oh you can search far and wide,

You can drink the whole town dry,

But you’ll never find a beer so brown,

As the one we drink in our hometown,

You can drink your fancy ales,

you can drink them by the flagon,

But the only brew for the brave and true…

..Comes from the green dragon!”

It had been a long drive so maybe we just imagined it.

Mirror mirror in the wall

We took a quick walk down toto mirror lake,  but as the wrong was blowing it was hard to get a reflection.  The reflection we’d did get was that the Everglades in Australia had the best mirror effects that we had seen anywhere.

The legend of the pest

We were where it all began and this tiniest of creatures, the sandflies had been released by the Goddess of the Underground to ensure humans did not settle in this paradise, which is now Milford Sound.

Cascade down to the creek

No more planned stops as we needed to get to the campsite at Cascade Creek.  There is no freedom camping within two hours on any direction of the sounds so we had no choice but to stay on a government DOC (Department of Conservation) campsite with 124 pitches, mainly vans but twenty or so tents as well.  We just needed a pitch for two so choose number 42.  This area is especially known for Sandflies and there is an Maui legend about how they came to be.

We had a Mediterranean chicken dish cooked on our trusty stove and settled down for some cards.