Fiordland National Park

Woke up in the middle of nature – trees surrounding us, the sound of the river, the waterfalls and the wind. Headed south down to the overbridge and went on a short walk to The Chasm – a natural carve out of huge rocks with a gushing waterfall running through the holes in the rocks. Then headed down to the wharf area of Milford Sound ready for our cruise. The day is a little windy but there is no rain, which is pretty fortunate as it rains here nearly every second day. The yearly rainfall is 7 – 9 metres so we were not going to complain about a little wind. Headed out on the boat and past amazing cliffs, rock formations, waterfalls, seals lazing on the rocks, past the huge Mitre Peak, the largest mountain here in the Fiordland. The kids loved going under the large waterfalls and got completely drenched! Learnt all about the misnaming of Milford Sound – it is not actually a sound, but a fiord, as it is the glaciers which have carved out the river system, not the actual river! Apparently the Dutch explorer (not James Cook who actually sailed right by it twice!) who discovered this area called it a “sound” not a “fiord” but so much of the area was already named, they have kept the error. We stopped off at the Underwater viewing centre which was really interesting. A large tower (10metres tall) was shipped in and they deposited it in the water. It has a viewing area 10m under the water where you can see the unusual fish, black coral (which is actually white!) and other sea creatures. Boarded the boat back to the shore and walked back to our motorhome. Had a look at the all the planes taking off from the tiny airstrip and then headed back to the camping area. It is very festive here tonight with decorated vans, people very happy.Read more