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Milford Sound

Entry 403, on 2006-10-06 at 14:52:05 (Rating 1, Travel)

On a cloudy morning we left Te Anau for the drive to Milford Sound. As we approached Milford the weather deteriorated and we got our first experience of some typical Fiordland rain, and by the time we got to Milford it was really wet. But the drive to Milford can be at its best when its raining. The water pours off the steep mountain sides and forms waterfalls hundreds of meters high. Its really very spectacular as you can see from the photo included with this blog entry (depending on which site you are reading this from you might not see it).

Milford is supposed to be a place of natural beauty and peace, but in some ways its more like a production line for tourists. At the wharf where the cruises leave from there are buses and boats constantly arriving and departing. In some ways its annoying to have this activity which is supposed to be a part of our own country which we can enjoy, but realistically its an inevitable part of having tourism as an important part of our economy and there are plenty of places which the tourists haven't discovered yet anyway.

A couple of the highlights of the drive into Milford are the Homer Tunnel and the Chasm. The road enters the tunnel, which was was dug by hand from solid granite about 100 years ago under hundreds of meters of steep mountain, then dives steeply down the other side to Milford. Half way down that road the Cleddau River races through narrow cracks in the rock and forms the Chasm. A highlight of that stop was meeting New Zealand's native mountain parrot, the kea. These playful and mischievous birds are well known for playing with (and often destroying) anything which attracts their interest!

To get a real taste of remote Fiordland without having to tramp through the mountains visit Gunn's Camp in the Hollyford Valley. This is a small collection of huts with one rough gravel road as its only access to the outside world. They have no power, phone lines, cell phones, etc. They do have a generator which they use occasionally, but apart from that it has a real pioneer atmosphere. Heavy rain adds to the authentic experience here too!

So our trip to Milford Sound, one of the most well known locations in the country, was over. Milford itself is often a disappointment (heavy rain and mist meant we didn't visit Bowen Falls, or take a cruise on the Sound itself) but this is a situation where the journey is more important than the destination.

Comment 1 (263) by H on 2006-10-13 at 17:03:49:

Thanks for reminding me,

I was a tourist to your country a few years back and did the Milford run in a hire car spectacular as a description does not do that road justice, something new, for us at least, at every turn of the head.

The tunnel is awesome and the run down to Milford from the other end is so much fun I wanted to turn round and do it again. I agree about the busses and cars (after all in added to them) but as you say it is a necessary evil.

We took the sail on the sound and also saw the waterfalls and underwater observatory which were all spectacular. As a visitor destination I would rank it high as places to be seen before you die. It is so peaceful and beautiful (despite the tourists) it will never cease to inspire and overawe anyone who takes the time to look in wonder.

Comment 2 (264) by OJB on 2006-10-13 at 17:04:08:

Cool! Pleased to hear you enjoyed your visit to New Zealand. I'll post some pictures from the area here soon.

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