April 19th, New Zealand Day 4

This day began earlier than all the others, before 06:00, and for good reason because today would be spent traveling to and from the famous Milford Sound. This is a formation created by the glaciers that once ran rampant across the landscape, molding it as they went to the sea. The west coast of the South Island is replete with these "sounds" and they are contained in Fiordland National Park. The drive to Milford Sound would take 5 hours and, ironically, it is only about 100 kilometers from Queenstown. However, because of the tall mountains surrounding Queenstown, it is impossible to build a road directly to Milford Sound so a very roundabout route must be taken. Another irony is that Milford Sound, along with the other "sounds" in the area, are not sounds at all, they are fiords. A sound is a river valley that has been filled in by the sea as sea levels rise but Milford Sound was carved out by glaciers making it a fiord like those in Norge (Norway). The original name stuck though and it has been called Milford Sound so ever since.

Our first stop was a town called Te Anau (teh ah-NAHW) for breakfast. We then quickly made our way to Milford Sound by way of the Hollyford Valley. It is an impressive feature with equally impressive winds. The day was quite miserable with rain but it created a nice effect as the clouds hugged the clouds obscuring their summits from view. We also stopped at the Mirror Lakes and then we went through the Homer Tunnel on our way to Milford Sound. Along the way we saw many streams coming down the mountains as the rain causes this phenomenon. Apparently they cease almost as soon as the rain stops.

We arrived at Milford Sound and boarded our boat for a cruise through the fiord. Unfortunately, Mitre Peak, named so because it looks like a bishop's mitre (big pointy hat), was obscured by clouds and rain but the effect of the clouds was quite nice. We could see many waterfalls in the distance.

I stayed topside most of the trip, even though it was raining, but it was really the best view of the fiord. The vessel often pulled up to various waterfalls and the captain would explain various features of the fiord over an intercom. The waterfalls which occur only after rainfall, bring material from the mountains and deposit them into the fiord. For this reason, because sunlight is filtered at shallower depths, deep water phenomena, such as black coral, are seen in shallow waters. There were also dolphins that came along side but they were too quick for my camera or I.

We traveled up and down the length of the fiord seeing spectacular things all the way, but I will let the photographs speak for themselves. We made our way back to the bus and arrived back in Queenstown shortly before dinner. Most of us were tired, or "knackered" as the Brits would say, and so after dinner was served, most everyone retired to their rooms but getting their second winds, went to a local pub soon thereafter. I followed suit in due time but I retired earlier than most because I had an early day tomorrow.

Photos are now available at: http://newzealandday4.blogspot.com/