Milford Sound

The day started off cool with low hanging clouds and rain off and on. By the end of the day, the sun was shining. We took a bus tour from Te Anau all the way to Milford Sound. We were told the roads were not very wide getting in and out of Milford and not meant for big camper vans. We were all more than happy to let someone else tackle the driving and be able to sit back and enjoy the scenery. We had at the best bus driver. He was friendly and knowledgeable and made us all feel welcome. We stopped at the remains of the 1st farm established in the area. The farmer had to build the road to get his sheep to market. The farm is now about 25,000 acres, over 10,000 sheep, and 1,000 cattle and deer. Yes, they have deer farm in New Zealand. They are easy to spot by the very tall fences surrounding the fields.  The Fiordland National Park- Southern Alps is untouched forests and valleys. They have worked very hard to maintain the natural area, stopping any buildings or commercialization. It was amazing to see. Only 2 native trees lose their leaves in the winter. The beech trees stay green year round. Te Anau gets about 1 meter of rain per year. Milford Sounds gets between 8-11 meters! Every 4 legged animal was introduced to New Zealand, none are native to the island. The valleys were carved by glaciers forming the many lakes. The Milford Sound Road was build from 1935-1993.   

 

Milford Sound. I think this might be one of the most stunning places I have ever seen! We did a boat tour of the Sound. The Captain and his crew were  great. It was a smaller boat but that made it so much better. We were able to get right up close to the seals and they even drove the boat's bow into one of the waterfalls! The shear size of everything is hard to describe. We saw a waterfall that was twice the height of Niagara Falls. We were in for a special treat towards the end of tour. The Captain spotted 3 penguins. It was usually late in the season to spy them we were told. 

We headed back to Te Anau stopping at Gunn Camp on the way. We ran across a group of tourists that had put their car in the ditch. Our driver told us at the start of the day we would see some of the worst driving in the world that day. These people were a prime example. Gunn Camp is a privately owned camp with small cabins alone a mountain creek. We had a little afternoon tea and skipped a few rocks before loading back up. The photos just below are of the one lane tunnel. The original explorers that discovered the area had to climb that mountain. They were some strong and determined  individuals.