MILFORD SOUND

Since we began planning the trip to South Island in detail in November 2010, visiting Milford Sound has always been an expected-highspot that we were really looking forward to.

What's in a name?:
Fiordland, on the west coast of south island, is the reatively-new name given to the coast deeply indented with 14 fiords spanning 215kms. of coastline. Early Europeans exploring the southern coastline mistakenly bestowed the names of 'Sounds' on the area. In fact, a 'sound' is a river valley that has been flooded due to the land sinking below sea level. 'Fiords' are created by glacial action that produces u-shaped valleys with steep cliffs. Fiords are also characterised by shallow entrances that slope quickly seaward to deep water.

The area was, according to Maori legend, carved out by the 'titanic mason' Tu. When the goddess of the underworld came to see his work she was so alarmed by the beauty of Milford Sound, fearing that humans would be so mesmerised by its beauty they would never want to leave, she released the sandfly into the area to encourage humans to leave. She wouldn't be too pleased today to see how many people visit the Sound but she could be proud of her handiwork as the sandfly ARE a pest!

Milford Highway:
Maoris in the past must have used this route, but no road existed until 200 unemployment-relief workers with shovels and wheel-barrows were put on the job in 1929. The greatest challenge turned out to be the 1200-metre-long Homer Tunnel, begun in 1935 but not completed till 1948. The road was finally opened to traffic in 1952.
The 120km. Milford Highway from Te Anau to Milford Sound turned out to be every bit as spectacular as the guide books, and everyone we had spoken to about it, said. We were advised to leave 2 hours for the journey but we decided, wisely as it turned out, to leave a whole morning so that we could stop as often as we wanted and yet still be in plenty of time for the cruise we had booked for 3pm. And we had to fill up with fuel before we set out as there is none available in Milford Sound.

As we began the drive we got a taste of what was to come:
........rivers....

.....mountains....

and lakes.
Mirror Lakes, 56kms. north of Te Anau, famous for their reflections.

The Eglington River and Valley:
The road veered north and the landscape changed with occasional stands of silver, red and mountain beech interspersed with open flats of red tussock grass. And so much water....

.....and amazing rock formations: see the water streams

Gunns Camp:
Named after Davey Gunn who settled and set up a cattle station here, the only habitation on the entire road is a huddle of simple old 1930s cabins which served as married familie's quarters for the road-builders, but today are available to rent to walkers and campers. There's no phone (and no mobile coverage), so if you want to rent a room email is the only way to get in touch with them. 

The river running alongside the camp.

There's also a museum containing photos, pioneer artefacts and 'interesting' paraphernalia.

This is a cattle horn remover

They may be far from neighbours, but the present-day owners have a sharp sense of Kiwi humour as shown in the signs dotted about the camp.

The Chasm:
Almost 10km. after emerging from the Homer Tunnel we reached the Chasm, an impressive rock chasm with near-vertical rapids, where the River Cleddau has scoured out a deep, narrow channel with sculpted rocks. It's a stopping-point for the numerous coaches who ply the highway every day and the day we went was no exception.

The Sound:
After such a spectacular drive would the cruise on the Sound prove to be somewhat of an anti-climax?
A pre-cruise walk along the foreshore whetted our appetites.

There wasn't quite a traffic jam but the water was far from deserted with many cruise ships. We'd been warned to take an afternoon cruise as it was even busier in the mornings.

But, as these kayaks show, the traffic isn't all commercial.

Steve was at hand ready to video everything that moved.

And what to see!!
Mountains....

.....rocks....

and seals on the rocks...

There's SO much water but only 2 permanent waterfalls which are just stunning.

Rainbows were formed as we approached the waterfalls.

And as a party-trick, the ships are steered almost under one of the falls so that we were all soaked in the spray.

SO...did the cruise on the Sound match-up to the Highway? There is some 'local' disagreement on this. Sue was bowled-over by being out on the water and surrounded by such beauty, but Steve, while loving the scenery, felt the drive had been so spectacular in its own right it couldn't be beaten, or matched, by the cruise. We've agreed to differ. The bottom-line, though, is that we both wouldn't have missed this day for anything.