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New Zealand's Milford Sound
By dawn
Fjordlands National Park stretches 143 miles by 50 miles along the coast of Southwestern New Zealand. The fjords are narrow saltwater inlets of the Tasman Sea that snake their way through towering 4,000 ft. tall glacial mountains. These mountains look as if they were sliced like pieces of butter with a hot knife as they plunge thousands of feet below the waterline.
Milford Sound was originally misnamed by early explorers as a "sound" (an island surrounded by sea next to mainland) but is a true fjord.
Luckily, this impressive beauty is easy to reach since the only public road through the park will bring you directly to the Milford Sound boat docks. Be prepared! There are only a few services offered here, including gas stations. There is a Milford Sound Lodge, the Mitre Peak Lodge, a campground, and a café.
From Milford Sound, two ships sail overnight to the Tasman Sea: the Milford Wanderer and the Milford Mariner. The Milford Wanderer sleeps 61 in bunk beds, four to a room with shared bathrooms. The Milford Mariner sleeps 60 in private cabins with en suite bathrooms. Fees for both ships run between $150 and $350NZ including a narrated cruise, dinner, breakfast, kayaking, and a guided tendercraft boat tour with a naturalist. After breakfast, these zodiac boats with outboard engines will take you up to the forest edge while the guide gives you information on geology, forest development, animals, birds and fish.
We've arrived at the Milford docks after fighting serpentine mountain roads cloaked in thick fog. Carrying umbrellas, we walk along the dockside and find the SS Milford Mariner floating on a sheet of gray water with tendrils of rolling fog caressing every porthole and slithering through open doorways. As I check-in, the Irish St. Bridget look- alike says, "You'll have a nice surprise on this voyage. There are five permanent waterfalls on the fjord, but when it rains there are 35!" I am thrilled.
Hearing the engines throttle, Ron and I quickly run up to the third deck as the ship rounds the harbor and passes Bowen Waterfall, swollen in a rage of white water from the days' rain.
Gliding to the South cliff walls, the fog lifts slightly to reveal an endless repetition of waterfalls as far as the eye can see. It gives you a feeling of being in a carnival funhouse with water flowing off cliffs hundreds of feet in every direction! The captain drives the boat directly at the cliffs and underneath the 70-meter high Fairy Waterfall, drenching a group of us standing on the bow.
Fur seals, Hector dolphins and Common dolphins swim in the waters around us. These family groups—called pods – have many babies in tow this January. Although this is summer in the Southern hemisphere, I have on a waterproof jacket with a liner and after looking at the underside of a waterfall; the chill is starting to seep deeper into my skin. Days in the rainforest can range from damp and chilly to sunny and 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit at this time.
Anchoring for our buffet dinner, the sun sets behind blue-gray clouds in a splash of pink. Almost everyone takes the extra evening tour to the Milford Sound Underwater Observatory in Harrison Cove. We descend 80 feet below the surface of the fjord to see amazing corals and fish that cannot be seen on the surface. See Te-anau to Milford journal for more information.
Back on the Milford Mariner, the fjord gleams a brilliant aquamarine as the engines start and we turn towards the home harbor, passing majestic Mitre Peak. This Peak stands as straight and smart as the Bishops hat after which it is named.
Yesterday we saw the moody fjord brooding among fog and rain with the spectacular waterfall display that disappeared when the sky cleared and now this jubilant display of sun glittering and sparkling off eerie blue water! This would have been missed if we had opted to take the day cruises with Redboats or Fjordland cruises. They offer scenic cruises (1 hour, 40 min.) or nature cruises (2 hours, 30 min).
If you opt to take this cheaper alternative I would suggest doing so very early in the morning before a horde of tour buses arrive from Queenstown! The disadvantage of the day cruise is that it is entirely too rushed and doesn't allow you to feel part of the beauty that surrounds you as the shades of light change color over water, mountain, and glacier.
See Te-Anau to Milford journal for more!
Contact Information
new-zealand.com
mitrepeak.com
fjordlandtravel.co.nz
