Milford Sound

IMGP4370
Originally uploaded by theslaad.

It's not a sound it's a fiord!

Today we drove 120km from Te Anau to Milford Sound for a boat trip. It was, as always, fairly cloudy but we enjoyed some pretty cool views as we drove along. There were temporary waterfalls along the mountain sides and some tops still had snow or ice on them. About two thirds of the way along the road there is a one way tunnel. Some clever Keas have made the waiting area their home, so we got to get quite a close look at New Zealand's alpine parrot. The tunnel doesn't seem to have had any work done to it recently and it was very dark inside.

We arrived at the visitor centre car park in the rain which didn't stop until we got back to Te Anau. We are officially cursed. Apparently only 1 in 6 people see Milford Sound on a clear day, but most of those must be in the summer.

We did have a pretty cool trip anyway. The low cloud made the whole area very atmospheric and dramatic looking, plus the waterfalls were very splishy. We managed to see all of the advertised wildlife - some seals, a pod of dolphins with a little baby one and a solitary fiordland crested penguin who was back early for the molting season. so we counted ourselves quite lucky in that respect.
We had chosen the nature cruise over the ordinary cruise so we had someone telling us interesting things about the formation of the fiord and about the area in general. The most famous landmark is Mitre Peak, but we didn't see it!
We had a good time but returned to our van quite chilly and quite soggy and very thankful that we packed fleeces and waterproof coats and shoes.