Misplaced clouds, taken along the Milford Road

There is a very good reason why Milford Sound is New Zealand’s #1 tourist destination. In a country with so much amazing natural beauty that it’s come to be called “Godzone” (as in God’s Own Country), the #1 spot would have to be absolutely breathtaking. A place where you simply can not believe your eyes. Milford Sound (and the road that takes you there) more than does that.

In order for a place to be protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it must meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. After scanning the list, I would easily guess that Milford Sound/Te Wahipounamu was granted permanent protection because it met the final four criteria, not the least of which was that contains “superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance”. It’s that beautiful.

The week that I was in Queenstown, rainclouds threatened every single day. I was a little nervous that the day I booked would dawn rainy and cloudy, and that like Mt Cook, Id get to Milford and not be able to see Mitre Peak, the Park’s signature formation. After boarding my bus at a daunting 7am, it seemed as though the gods were determined to make up for the disappointment earlier in the week. While it took a very cloudy and grey 2 hours to get to Te Anau from Queenstown, once we left that stop the skies cleared up as we ascended into Fjordland National Park. The further away we got from civilisation, the more rugged and amazing the journey came. Pretty soon, there was no way I could ever whine again about not having seen mountains: on this trip they were my constant companion, all snow capped and jagged and THERE. So big, I cant really put to words how solid and larger than life they were.

A glacier along the Milford Road

Mirror Lakes, taken along the Milford Road

This was one trip I was happy to have a chatty driver: he pulled over at least half a dozen times to allow us to get off the bus and take photographs. A few times we caught up with other tour buses (most notably the Kiwi Experience bus), but for the most part we were the only bus (or car for that matter) on the road. There is only one road in and out of Milford, so I would imagine that in peak season it would be rather crowded. Since it was the end of April, very late autumn, there was just us. And it was great! If there is one thing I hate, its when I have random people in my landscape photograps.

Somewhere along the Milford Road

The bus trip included a 1hr45min boat cruise around the Sound (which was technically a fjord, not a sound), and as we pulled into the docks we caught up again with the Kiwi Express bus. There are a number of outfits running bus/boat cruises around Milford Sound, and after having been on the exact same boat as the KE people, Ive got to say they are pretty much all the same deal. All of the boats go right up against the waterfalls, and all go out to the Tasman Sea and back again. I think the big difference between the cruises are the departure times. Mine left around 130pm, while others have early morning times or late afternoon. I lucked out with fantastic lighting, but it could just have easily been harsh sunlight. Another way to view Milford Sound would be to take a sea kayaking trip, something I would LOVE to do during warmer weather.

Mitre Peak, Milford Sound

Milford Sound took my breath away. Its beauty was almost overwhelming, it was difficult to know where to look as we were completely surrounded by incredible things: gushing waterfalls, coy wildlife (the seals did a fantastic job of pretending to be rocks), looming cliffs, and moody mountains. When we first arrived the skies were blue, but an hour later clouds had begun to roll in, providing us with another of Milford’s faces. Since words just refuse to adequately describe my experiences here any further, Im going to let the photos do the talking:

Waterfall in Milford Sound

Milford Sound

Can you spot the seal?

Milford Sound

Yaay!

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