Life is not measured ....

Milford Sound on a misty wet day

The road from Te Anau to Milford is a reason itself to visit Milford Sound, the focal point of Fiordland National Park at the other end. Our drive starts along the shores of lake Te Anau and through the downs where we come across sheep on the road (surprising that this is a first in NZ for us given the ground we have covered and the population of sheep). Already the scale of the mountains surrounding us is impressive, different shades of green, and later blue/grey as the mist and the rain descends, show the mountains which seem to poke out in front of one another in layer after layer.

We stop at Mirror Lakes and then pass along a stretch of road called “the avenue of the disappearing mountain” which gives the illusion that the peak ahead is sinking out of sight as we drive directly towards it. After a point called The Divide, the scenery changes again, the mountains tower even further above us with sheer slopes and as the rain sets in, there are tens (maybe hundreds) of waterfalls that rush over the rock walls to the roadside. It is then through the Homer Tunnel: unlined, rough and a bit scary as it descends through the mountain to the Cleddau Valley and on to Milford Sound.

Milford Sound has been carved out of rock by glaciers over two million years ago. Huge volumes of water flow into the fiord creating a layer of freshwater over the sea water, creating conditions for unusual marine life (including black coral) to exist much closer to the surface than usual.


I imagine that on a sunny day, this place takes on a different character altogether, today the mist hugs the mountains and the clouds almost seem alive as they roll over the peaks. Although grey and wet, the visibility is good and we take a boat trip out. We can’t quite make out Mitre Peak but again there are plenty of waterfalls and we see dolphins and seals. As we reach the open sea, the boat lurches in the swell, there is a little island just off the rocks which used to serve as the post office (weird, in the wilderness of this place but apparently true) and then as we turn to head back in, the entrance is almost impossible to spot which explains why the fiord went unnoticed by ships for so long.


The map above shows where we went on our boat trip and should help to place some of the names in the photos taken of Milford Sound the first time round

compare to two days later when we returned in the sunshine
link back to Our Big Trip South

posted by Sharon, Ben, Louise and Daniel @ 11:08 pm