TRAVEL GUIDE 2017

NEWZEALAND

BY LEONG HUAT GOH Magical Milford

My best travel moment was cruising down Milford Sound, a fjord in the southwest of New Zealand’s South Island. It was truly idyllic, and we were blessed with the most wonderful weather, which we were told was very unseasonal for the month of December. The scenery was breathtaking, and we came up close and personal with lots of wildlife, particularly seal colonies bathing in the sun, and schools of dolphins that playfully followed in the boat’s wake and came right up to the windows. It was such a fantastic experience! FACT FILE Getting there: There are direct daily flights from Singapore to Auckland (9.5 hours), from where it’s another two hours by plane to Queenstown. You can either drive to Milford Sound (four hours) from Queenstown, or take one of the many available scenic flights (30 minutes). Trivia time: • Milford Sound is the wettest place in New Zealand – it rains for around half the year. • It was dubbed the “eighth wonder of the world” by Rudyard Kipling. • Surrounding mountain peaks are named after animals and include The Elephant (1,517m) and The Lion (1,302m).

Shutterstock.com | Luis Boucault

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