Milford Sound
After a fun day of River Surfing, Canyon Swinging and hanging out in Queenstown we hit the road for Milford Sound. It’s a 3 hour drive or so and we wanted to get there that night so we could get some sleep and be ready for the following days events of exploring the Sound and then another all nighter drive to be at the Franz Josef Glacier the following morning.
The drive to Milford Sound is really beautiful. Large mountains and green forests surround you as you wind your way through the southern part of New Zealand. Night had fallen during our drive but a full moon helped light our way through the mountainous countryside. Eventually we found ourselves driving toward a large mountain, which seemingly blocked our path, but as we got nearer we could see the small road disappear into a huge gapping hole cut right into the side of the mountain.
We slowly approached to get a better view. It honestly looked more like an abandoned mine shaft than a tunnel for cars to drive through but it was indeed the way to go so we headed in and down the long shaft. Making our way through the rough-hewn cavern was something straight out of an old suspenseful thriller movie. We emerged from the dark tunnel with the valley before us bathed in moonlight. Along this final stretch to Milford Sound we were about to cross one of many small bridges when we nearly hit a large Kiwi bird. It was about the size of a chicken. I didn’t realize they got that big. People said we were really lucky to see a Kiwi, especially in the Milford Sound area…some people have spent years in NZ and never seen one in the wild. We got to Milford, parked near the harbor and fell asleep.
The next morning we jumped on one of the many boats that run tours around Milford Sound. The whole southwest edge of New Zealand’s southern island is covered with various sounds, lakes, mountains and the like. It’s one of the most beautiful places. The area was shaped by huge glaciers over thousands of years so the sounds are actually fiords but the original discoverers who named them didn’t know that because most of the glaciers had long since melted. Milford Sound is one of the most spectacular of these. The tour boat took us out through the sound to where it opens up into the Tasman Sea and back again. The granite cliffs are enormous and there are some incredible waterfalls along the way as well. We saw a variety of birds and animal life along the way including NZ fur seals, which are actually sea lions.
After a break for lunch we headed over to the Milford lodge for our next event. We started off by kayaking out into the sound, getting up close and personal with the surrounding cliffs and vegetation that clings to them. The cliffs are granite and moss grows on the granite so thick that eventually supports an entire forest of trees. Because the trees roots can’t dig in there are sometimes huge tree falls that sweep down the cliff faces. We also got up close to a seal sun bathing on a rock. From there we paddled on over to a small boat dock where we got out of our kayaks and spent a few hours trekking along part of the Milford Track. The Milford Track is a breathtaking 53 kilometer trail through the Fiordlands National Park. The entire track takes several days to hike and must be booked several months in advance. We really enjoyed hiking through the lush rain forest over streams and rivers, surrounded by huge mountains and incredible views. Then it was back to the kayaks to make our way over the water again to finish up.
NZ has a small fly, not much bigger than a Gnat called a Sandfly. They look harmless enough but their bite is similar to a mosquito sting and where there is one Sandfly there is many. Milford is known, at times, to have a plethora of Sandflies. In fact the place where we docked our kayaks to hike on the Milford Track is called Sandfly Point. While kayaking back across the Sound we ran into what looked like a large dust cloud but turned out to be a gigantic swarm of Sandflies. It was literally the largest, thickest swarm of anything I’ve ever seen, I’m talking plague like proportions people. We had to shut our mouths, squint our eyes and breath shallowly from our noses to make it through the cloud. We survived and made it back to the dock. After a trip to the bathroom to freshen up and clean off the few remaining sandflies that had hitched a ride, we jumped in the car and headed off for a 10-13 hour all night drive to make it to the Franz Josef Glacier in time for our Glacier trek the next morning.
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