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Above A cruise through the spectacular Milford Sound is a must

Below Pristine rivers weave their way through the mountain valleys

Below right The distinctive peaks of The Remarkables reach 2,234 metres.

of every sheep station beats, and meet the owner of Mount Earnslaw Station.

Geoffrey Thomson is an interesting farmer, with a sun-touched face, pink golf shirt, long grey cargo pants, and a beat-up oilskin hat that betrays its all-weather use. He has managed to convert his 16,465-acre farm to organic, so that when the demand for organic lamb and beef grows, he’ll have the supply ready. We tour Geoffrey’s woolshed, admiring the handsome Perendale sheep – a cross between Romney Marsh and Cheviots – bred for their hardiness in winter weather, adaptability to hill country, long coarse wool, and good meat. Geoffrey has 5,500 sheep, 550 Angus breeding cows, two farm-hands, and three dogs to run this mammoth farming enterprise. We examine the shearing stands and pens, an unimaginable hive of activity during the twice yearly

We begin our four-wheel ascent up the trail cut out of Mount Alfred’s rocky face shearing seasons, as hard-case shearers compete with each other, shearing 300 sheep a day – those boys have strong backs!

Now it’s time to view the station and the basin from up on high, as Charles drives us along farm tracks, across small rivers, and past marshes and the clear shallow lagoon of Diamond Lake, filled with squawking black swans and ducks. We begin our four-wheel ascent up the switchback trail cut out of Mount Alfred’s rocky face. “You’ve gone quiet there, Roy,” says Charles, referring to the

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Left Cruise boat passengers enjoy Milford Sound’s greenery-covered mountainsides

Below left Mitre Peak, all 1,695 metres of her, dominates like an ancient queen.

Below Waterfalls cascade down the rocky outcrops gouged out of the mountainside unnerving sheer drop off the side of the trail beside me. “I’m fine,” I say as confidently as I can, “There’s at least six inches between the wheel and the drop off.” My wife thinks I’m joking.

Stopping halfway up the mountain at a wide dogleg, Charles pulls out a chilly bin with cheese, salami, Anzac biscuits and hot tea. The sweeping view across the Glenorchy basin is magnificent; Diamond Lake in the foreground, lush green farmland dotted with white specks of sheep across the valley, and rows of jagged tooth massifs in the far distance. A paraglider soars over us, loitering for a while, before moving on to land further along the mountain. We stop in the small town of Glenorchy on our return trip, pay our respects at the solemn white marble memorial to the area’s soldiers who were killed in World War I and II; inscribed, “For the Empire”.

A Kiwi Discovery bus tour to Milford Sound is a must for Queenstown visitors who don’t have a car. Our driver and guide, Dave, has been doing this trip for seven years and describes the countryside as it www.getmedownunder.com

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