Milford Sound

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Mirror Lake

mountains through the mist

ice

The Chasm

Wholes created by Chasm

one of a million waterfalls

this is as tall as a 50 floor building

the New Zealand flag and blue sky!

We took our first day of R&R today and drove 120 km from Te Anau to Milford Sound. It is supposedly a 2 hour drive, but it took us 3 because of how many times we stopped to gape at the scenery. The road snaked its way through valleys that were surrounded by sheer mountains and littered with waterfalls, rivers, and ponds.

One of the better stops was Mirror Lake. It may have been undeserving of its lake title (I would barely call it a pond…), but it certainly held true to being a mirror. The mountains above had perfectly clear reflections in the water below. The scenery was remarkable, although slightly marred by the obnoxious, loud, and aggressive tourists who flocked around the look out points. Lets just say these weren’t the type of people we have been seeing on our treks. Kyle did not approve of the couple that wore matching Uggs and spent a laborious amount of time taking modeling pictures of each other, all while in the way of every other onlooker.

We continued down the highway and pulled over just before the Homer Tunnel. At this juncture the road disappeared into a dark and barely lit hole in the mountainside. Before we ventured into the darkness we hopped out of Ace and took in the dark granite walls rising above us, and a small section of ice along the road. The tiny slab was all that is left of a glacier that used to fill the valley. After taking in the sights we bravely entered the tunnel (it was more like a cave). When we emerged on the other side we were greeted with another expansive valley. There was a low layer of fog and clouds and rising above this we could see various mountain peaks.

Our best stop was at The Chasm. After a walk through the forest we came to a plunging gully that was formed by a rushing waterfall. The water flows at such an intensity that it’s circular current has made huge round wholes that cut completely through the rock mountain. The water was clear blue and pushed through the rock at such incredible force, it was beyond amazing.

We arrived at Milford Sound just in time to hop on the 2 hour cruise we booked yesterday. Milford Sound is regarded as the most beautiful and dramatic of the formations in Fiordland, and is a landmark area in New Zealand. The sound is actually not a sound at all, but rather a fiord. Thousands of years ago a glacier carved its way through the valley and out to the Tasman Sea. With the glacier now melted the Tasman Sea flows in along with penguins, seals, and dolphins. Also as a result of the glacier the waterway is surrounded by unbelievably steep mountains, which are pure rock, and yet still have thick moss and tree growth covering their nearly perpendicular slopes.

The cruise was simply stunning. As we set out, the rain and clouds gave way to warm sunshine and we were able to marvel at the peaks rising above us. The waterfalls that flow into Milford Sound were remarkable and we spent the entire 2 hour cruise on the top outdoor viewing deck trying to take in the scenery. No description we write here or pictures you see above can really do Milford justice. It was beautiful, dramatic, and awe inspiring.

Now its time to head to Queenstown to possibly do some bungee jumping before we begin our long car journey back to the northern part of the south island. Along the way we should get to see the picturesque West Coast as well as the Fox or Franz Josef glacier.