Road Tripping Around New Zealand Chapter 20: Monkey Creek, Lake Gunn and Mirror Lakes on the road to Milford Sound

6 December 2015

As much as we were amazed by the Milford Sound cruise, we were also looking forward to making all the pit stops on the way back to Te Anau. In my hands, was the map and I was looking at all the pit stops and wondering which one would be worth it to stop by. I could not make any decision so we decided we would stop by all.

First up, Monkey Creek! It is simply a stream of river but blessed with these beautiful mountains in the back drop. You can simply park your car at the side and it is a 5 minutes walk to the stream.

Go ahead and feel the water! It was col! I I was already feeling cold despite wearing 3 layers of clothes. It was summer! The girls were quick to check out the water.

I am loving this picturesque place. Such simplicity and so peaceful to listen to the streaming water.

However, be careful of the rocks. We had to slowly walk over to the stream as the rocks were uneven and some were also not stable. Be sure to be in good shoes.

Look who decided to hop onto our car! The kea bird, exclusively only in South Islands New Zealand,  is the world’s only alpine parrot.  Kea are known for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment.

I was trying to chase it away while not hurting it. Some other tourist (from China) were seen trying to hit them with umbrellas. We were pretty appalled to see this. The kea lives here, you don’t so can’t they show some basic respect? Gosh.

Anyway, once we boarded the car, we decided to drive slowly so that the kea would know to fly away from our car. It worked.

The view along the roads were also too gorgeous.

Our second stop, Hollyford Valley with Humbolt Mountains at the back.

Our third stop, Lake Gunn.  A small lake between Lake Te Anau and Milford Sound. The lake is within the boundary of the Fiordland National Park and is surrounded by native bush.

Our fourth stop, Mirror Lakes. It was a 10 minutes walk from the car park to these calming place.

The small lakes had reflective views of the Earl Mountains.

We spent quite a while here because it was simply stunning. We were blessed with clear bright sky thus, we were able to see the reflections of the mountains in the lakes.

I love it, I must have taken 100 shots here which I will share in later entries lol.

An overview of the stunning beauty.

I was feeling so overwhelmed with what we have seen so far. Coming from the city, we are never blessed with such serene views so I was saying alhamdulilah in my heart the entire time. How blessed was I to be able to witness these amazing creations of the Almighty with my very own eyes.

And when people say that travelling is not related to faith in God, they are wrong. No man can ever create such beauty.