A trip to New Zealand would not be complete without checking out one of the fjords in Fjordland National Park. Milford Sound is supposedly the most spectacular of the 14 fjords in the park. We did not visit any of the others as this is the only one with a road to it. Doubtful Sound can be reached by a long boat ride a long bus trip and then the cruise on the sound for more than double the price.
We opted for a bus trip rather than drive the 2 hour approach road by ourselves. All we have spoken to recommend this as the approach road has the most head on accidents in the country. After you drive the perilously skinny, hilly, curvy road for over 2 hours then take your 2 hour cruise then try to drive the same road back to the town of Te Anau folks tend to be tired and drift into the other lane. The bus ride was spectacular as I finally got to relax and not do the driving. Check out the glass tops and windows with the views outside.
The bus stopped 4 times on the way in to allow us to stretch our legs and grab a few pictures like the one above. The bus driver was witty and humorous as most folks that deal with the public here are. His choice of music was also to our liking. He played 70s and 80s music that was right up our alley. His choice of places to stop and his commentary made the 3 hour trip about as fun as the cruise itself
After going through the almost mile long Homer Tunnel we stopped at this spot for a few minutes. Ain’t nature grand?
Above is the exit to the tunnel covered by an avalanche protector as they call it. Cannot imagine a machine boring through that mountain! There is construction going on to fortify the avalanche cover on both sides of the tunnel. Our driver asked us not to consider that a large earthquake is overdue in the region while we were in the tunnel.
Oh my! Back in the day this would have been a no brainer for us folks that enjoy a long hilly and remote ride. He rode the 60 miles to Milford before turning around and biking back. Crazy bastard. We passed him 4 hours later on our return trip still trying to make it,
Still not at the fjord and look at the fabulously colored and clear waters coming down the sides of the mountains.
Same stop for the bus but different waterfall. So cool, quite literally.
Finally on the cruise boat with a view of Mitre Peak, the parks tallest peak. We watched a video on Youtube of 3 friends that kayaked out to it and then walked up and down it before kayaking back to town. Crazy.
They call the forest in the park “catastrophe forests”. The catastrophe is that every now and again a tree comes uprooted at the top and causes a catastrophic avalanche of trees creating what you see above, They say it only takes about 120 years for it to regrow!
There are only 3 permanent waterfalls in Milford Sound. This was not one of them. It is a temporary one that only appears after some decent rain. No rain today but it has been raining a bit lately. So pretty.
This beauty is one of the permanent waterfalls. They say it is the source of the town’s drinking water as well as the generator of its electricity. 80% of New Zealand’s power is hydro-generated. Pretty good way to get your electric eh? The water comes directly from glacier melt so they say it has been locked up as ice for up to a million years.
A glacier in the middle of a rain forest?? Not many places this happens in the world.
These are New Zealand fur seals. Close to extinction a hundred years ago but after protection their numbers are coming back but nowhere near the 2 million that were here a century ago. These are adolescent males that got kicked out of their group, as per the captain of our ship. They enjoy it here at Seal Point (remember that New Zealand has very literal naming of things) as it is warm and more importantly, windy to keep the sand flies away. With all the travelers visiting New Zealand from around the world the sand flies are treated to an international buffet. So far we have been fortunate they haven’t feasted on us too much. These little bastards only exist on the west coast of the Southern Island.
Could not get over the beauty of the place here. Reminded us of a fjord we cruised in Newfoundland in 2007 called Western Brook. They were both very scenic and remote but this one takes the prize.
No cruise through a fjord would be complete without a roast beef sandwich and a local beer. Note the jacket in mid summer. Woke up to 38 degrees this morning but it was almost 70 by dinner time. It takes a long time for the intense sunlight to heat up the place but eventually it always does.
Our cruise ship turned around when we reached the open Tasman Sea. Last time we saw this we were at Cape Reinga, the northern most point in New Zealand.
Leaving this post with a video of the most cool falls of the trip. Legend has it that if your are sprayed by the mist of this waterfall you will wake up tomorrow morning looking ten years younger. We will see in the morning? A bit like the Niagara Falls back in the States but not as much mist.
Any younger?
Absolutely! Feel much younger every day.