Milford Sound (New Zealand)

Ola all,

On a sunny day we decided to drive from Queenstown to the south western region of the south island, the Fiordland. Fiordland is protected as a World Heritage Site and is one of the most diverse kiwi national parks. In particular, it harbours three of the most spectacular walks NZ has on offer (the Kepler, Milford and Routeburn tracks) and the Doubtful and Milford Sounds. The only down side (from a purelly touristic perspective, of course) is that it rains 200 days of the year producing six metres of rain annually! The weather forecast was great so we decided this was an unmissable chance and set out to do the 400 odd Km separating us from Milford Sound (if you look in the map, the distance in a straight line is of only 100 Km but you have to go around the national park...). Still, the drive into Milford Sounds is full of pretty sights like the Mirror Lakes in the photo. As you approach Milford, you drive down an extremely windy road descending from the mountains with enormous waterfalls spilling over the tops of the moutains. It is a spectacular drive.


We arrived just in time for one of the afternoon cruises around the Sound. Picture this: clear blue waters and sky, a boat in the middle of it all that beauty and as much free tea as you like. Ah... The Milford Sound valleys were carved hundreds of years ago by glaciers, now turned into beautiful water channels. The mountains raise steeply from the water the crazy rainfall levels they get there ensure that multiple waterfalls come dropping down all around the place.






The Mitre Mountain, standing proudly at 1700 m high, the iconic symbol of Milford Sound..









Tom, pretending to be blow off from the boat by its speed (as if we weren't in such a sedated cruise that it was safe to go around carrying mugs with hot tea!). Sometimes I think he is still in denial about his age...















The hills are alive and there are no clouds!!!
















One waterfall...















... and a slightly bigger one.















Not only we got to see the beautiful mountains and waterfalls but also we came close to lots of local wild life: NZ fur seals lazily basked in the afternoon sun, until two of them decided to have an argument over sunbathing space! Meanwhile bottle nose dolphins followed our boat around for part of the trip.








However, one animal made a real impression on us earlier. While driving to Milford Sound we made a stop to admire the mountainous landscape, over a valley. As we marveled at the site this high pitch cry come from high above us. We couldn't quite get what was going on but this massive bird came swooping down, almost landing on us. It was a Kea, the only alpine parrot and endemic to NZ. Parrots are amongst the most intelligent birds (and indeed animals) and Keas are particularly inquisitive. Keas target touristic sites for food but in its absence, anything else catches their attention, in particular parked cars. Their powerful beak goes into "can-opener-mode" and there goes the rubber around the windows or the windshield wipers. Tom had to fiercely defend his lunch from a Kea that tried to enter the car firstly by his door, then by my side when Tom closed his and finally through a window when all doors were closed. Having not got any food, the Kea sat on top of the car deciding which part of the bodywork to have for lunch - Cheeky monkeys, I love them!



Bye for now,

Vania