Milford Road

In some ways the worst thing about the drive to Milford is getting there. Not that there's anything wrong with the famous Milford Sound but the road which takes you there can be even more spectacular in some conditions. The scenery is often at its best during rain (which happens a lot of the time in Fiordland) or even better, shortly after rain. After rain waterfalls pour from the near vertical mountains on every side.

This picture was taken from near the entrance to the Milford Tunnel, a tunnel which was carved by hand from solid granite and is the only road into Milford (the other ways in are by cruise ship through the sound (actually a fiord), by air, or via the famous Milford Track walk.

I walked to the bottom of the valley so this photo is taken from a low angle looking up to the road and the mountains beyond. The snowy tops of the mountains blend into the sky and water cascades down hundreds of meters. The cloudy conditions, grey sky and grey rock may look a bit bleak but in these conditions that is what Fiordland is like.