Milford Sound

Te Anau, Southland, New Zealand
Saturday, November 30, 2013

Oh Boy, what a day! We have definitely had four seasons in one today. We were up at the crack of dawn, well 6 o'clock anyway (call this a holiday!). It was pelting with rain as we left to drive the 120 kms to Milford Sound and my heart sank. The cloud was low and very little was visible . We had to check in by 10am for the cruise and it took us the 2 hrs to drive what is a spectacular route, or so we had heard. We did stop off at the mirror lakes to admire the reflection in the water. It continued to rain and a full rainbow just had to be photographed a little further on. The lupins were again in the ascendancy in the Eglington valley and lo and behold just as we arrived at the Homer tunnel it started to snow, so here was winter. Hearts in boots by now we trundled into the visitor centre at Milford Sound and to our surprise found it surprisingly quiet, no Chinese! (Too early we gathered) The Sound was wreathed in mist and appeared ethereal and almost autumnal, quite different to how I had envisaged it. There were cascades of waterfalls like bridal veils, so much rain had fallen overnight and it did look magical, which was a bonus. Gradually as we meandered slowly up the very narrow fiord the weather cleared and sun began to cast it's glow over the sheer walls. The water is 600 mtrs deep in parts and the temperate rainforest somehow clings to the upper walls. The tops of the mountains once they had eventually cleared were dusted with fresh snow and there were seals on the rocks and a variety of birds on show. We reached the mouth of the fiord and to our horror started to head out into the Tasman Sea. Hang on a minute, this wasn't on the sheet. The pitching and rolling began whilst the captain was on the lookout for flaming dolphins yet again! Fortunately, another squall came in and he gave up pretty sharpish to our relief. By the time we arrived back at the jetty it was lunchtime and a beautiful afternoon. The photograph at the end was much more summery and I suppose if you count the spring flowers that abound everywhere, you could say we have performed the four seasons in one day!
We have only touched the surface of one of the last wilderness areas on earth. It is a gigantic National Park, bigger than Yosemite and Yellowstone put together and largely unexplored. Milford is just one of the Sounds and the spectacular sights on offer and a must if you find yourself in the vicinity. Do drive it yourself, it is so much more rewarding. On the return journey to Te Anau we stopped at the Eglington river to photograph the valley, lupins and surroundings. We all emerged from the car to complete silence, bar the babbling of the river and birdsong. There was no one in sight for a full five minutes, the snow capped peaks soared above us and it was a special moment of tranquillity rarely found these days.
Te Anau looked better in the sunlight and the view from our bedroom window was everything we had thought it might be. Perhaps I was a little harsh yesterday, so don't cross it off the list just yet, but it is weather dependant. We went to the cinema this evening. There are armchairs and we watched a beautiful film of the area set to music to fill in the gaps that we cannot cover. A good glass of wine was served and it was a charming aperitif before supper.
Farewell Fiordland. We move on to Queenstown tomorrow and have to decide Bungee, Skydive or Shotover? Any thoughts?Читать далее