Lake Howden, the end of the trail, and sea kayaking on Milford Sound

Woke really early and had to start in the dark, as my kayaking bus was picking me up at 8 am.  I had not planned on the latter sunrise (being so far South) so was up and packing in the dark, just waiting for some light. Walked the first bit with a headlamp, but it soon was ok to see as my eyes adjusted

After only an hour I was around Key Summit and out, to a very comfortable shelter, which was nice as it was raining now.

Then the bus arrived, with my Kayak company giving me a nice hot chocolate for the 20 min trip to Milford Sound. We were quickly in our gear and out on the water, and I was lucky enough to share my kayak with one of the guides, a young indigenous woman who was great fun and told me heaps about the area, the plants, and the natural history of NZ.

There were a couple, and 4 kids from the US in my group, and even though it was raining the Sound was still magnificent. This is Lion Rock ahead of us.

I did wonder what the sheep farmers were doing without their beanies

We paddled into a cool little alcove called Dragons Lair which had the most noisy birds, and we then lunched at the end of the Milford Track

So I think I will be back again to do more of the Great Walks. My Annie Dillard quote " how you live your days is how you live your life" fitted well with this trip.