Milford Sound

Finally the rain has abated. We awoke to clear blue skies and booked a kayaking excursion for the day. The air was frigid and the idea of getting into a kayak was a little baffling. The tour operator provided all the gear which included thermal layers and splash coats. Once we geared up and set out the temperature was quite pleasant. Rebecca and I shared a tandem kayak. These are commonly known as divorce makers but our prior kayaking experience was helpful. The conditions were actually perfect, clear blue sky and no wind. The tour started off in an exciting fashion as dolphins came right into shore and started popping up and swimming beside the boats. This was great! The guide says he only sees dolphins about 5 times a year on tours and never this close. Next to our viewing delight was a friendly sea lion that swam by doing the backstroke. The tour continued on around the sound for 3 hours as our guide (Australian) highlighted interesting facts about the region. I learned Milford Sound isn’t actually a sound but a fjord. Sounds are carved by river and fjords are carved by glaciers. Milford Sound is a beautiful place surrounded by high mountains and deep water. There is so much rain fall here (250+ days year) that the top few meters of water is fresh water sitting on top of salt water. A surprising danger in these waters is actually tree falls. The trees and roots all tangle together in the thin soil available on the rock walls and certain conditions one tree fall can pull the whole wall of trees down. Luckily it is one of the fastest re-growing forests in the world. We also had a quick lunch stop on a beach and heard the Maori story about how the Sound was created.

After the tour ended, we hightailed it out of there to try get back to Ta Anau in time for glow worm caves. Unfortunately the tour was full when we arrived so we will save the glow worms for the north island. With the forecast set for more rain we continued on and drove a couple more hours to Queenstown. On arrival in Queenstown, we headed to the information office which had just closed so our second stop was the number 1 tourist spot in Queenstown, Ferg Burger. This burger joint was busy every hour of the day we passed it and all the guide books say you have to eat there. This was also our first meal out in over a week and it lived up to expectations. I can’t remember all the toppings on my burger but it was fat and had beef and bacon and pineapple among them. It was soooo good. A good choice to end the day.Read more