On Friday, K and I journeyed to Milford Sound from Queenstown. Rudyard Kipling described Milford Sound as the “8th Wonder of the World.” Good call Mr. Kipling. Milford Sound is actually a fjord (versus a sound). As our tour guide later informed us, a sound is a harbor safe haven and is technically carved by rivers. A fjord is carved by glaciers and not a river. In British Empire days (when Milford Sound was "discovered" and named), the term sound was applied more liberally as a safe harbor - which is what Milford Sound really was to them - so the name sticks.
Milford Sound is one of 13 fjords on the southwest corner of New Zealand. It is considered the prettiest of the fjords - being surround by sheer rock of almost 5000 feet at the high points. It is 15 kilometers (roughly 9 miles) long and deep - very deep. If Milford Sound was a mountain, from sea floor to mountain tops, it would be the biggest mountain range on the planet. It is also very wet - averaging 182 days of rain a year, averaging 264 inches a year - getting 10 inches of rain at once is not uncommon. It is the wettest place in New Zealand and one of the wettest on earth. The fjord sits in the middle of a rain forest - making the fjord green - despite the sheer rock cliffs. Because of its opening, it was hard to see and remained hidden from European discoveries until 1812.
The trip to Milford Sound took 4 hours (with some extra time for photos and bathroom stops). The trip over would rank as one of the most beautiful road trips I have ever been on, but it was turned mediocre because of what we saw in the fjord itself.
We took a 2.5 hour boat cruise of the actual sound. Again, something I will remember for the rest of my life. But before the Milford Sound pictures, let me show you some of the ride over. First, we left Queenstown early and had beautiful views of the Remarkables and Lake Wakatipu.
About half way, we entered the town of Te Anau. Te Anau sits in the middle of Fjordland National Park where Milford sound (and the other fjords) are located. Cute little town that is largely tourist
oriented - with some farming too. It sits on Lake Te Anau - adding to its beauty.
Te Anau sits just slightly below 45 degrees latitude in the southern hemisphere. This was significant to K and I because our home town sits just above 45 degrees latitude in the north hemisphere. As we turned north from Te Anua to head to Milford Sound, the beauty and the landscape changes start to occur. But first, we encountered something that was unexpected, unplanned and a treat (at least at first). We encountered a sheep herder moving his flock from one field to the other - which was about 2 kilometers down the road! Sheep were all over the road and traffic was snarled. What was even more exciting was to see the modern sheep herders arrive in a pick up truck filled with sheep herding dogs. When a sheep started to move away from the rest of the herd, a farmer whistled to one of the dogs that hopped out of the truck and went to work. Quite a site to see. The pictures and a small video we took shows a little of the mayhem.
Once we got around our sheep friends, we saw some amazing scenery on the Milford Sound Highway. Here are some of the images from that journey.
It was a long ride, but eventually entered Milford Sound. This is the iconic picture from the coast that is similar to what you see in travel guides.
We left the port of Milford Sound around 1:30 in the afternoon. It was a little grey that day - but not at all unusual for Milford Sound. In fact, we considered ourselves lucky not to be rained on that day (most are). Here was our ride in port.
The rest of my post needs no words - the images speak for themselves (I tried to keep some of the other ships in the photos to give a small sense of the enormity of this fjord).
Another day of unforgettable memories for K and I.
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