Monday 1st August -Te Anau to Milford Sound and back again!

 

August already! An early start again as we wend our way up and down to Milford Sound. The weather does not look great as we drive through the countryside. We pass stunning scenery, lakes, waterfalls, rivers. Up into the mountains and then dipping down to sea level. We drive through several avalanche zones - (no stopping allowed!) and a  variety of weather! We pass through the Homer Tunnel which is the only road access through the mountains and arrive at the terminal building to find there is a problem with the Jucy boat which we had hoped to catch and that we had been transferred to Southern Discoveries Nature Cruise. 

Milford Sound is a deep, icy blue waterway running 15km inland from the Tasman Sea and is part of the majestic Fiordland National Park. Carved over time by glaciers, the deepest part of the fiord is 400m, surrounded by sheer rock faces rising 1,200m or more on either side. Milford Sound is the wettest inhabited place in New Zealand and one of the wettest in the world, with a mean annual rainfall of close to 7m, feeding the many waterfalls that thunder down cliff faces.Milford Sound (also known by its Maori name Piopiotahi) is a fiord of spectacular beauty and natural grandeur, named after Milford Haven in Wales.

 

  It was initially overlooked by European explorers, because its narrow entry gave no clue to its large interior bays. Captain James Cook bypassed Milford Sound for just this reason, because he was afraid of getting too close to the steep mountainsides and not having enough wind to escape.We are lucky enough to also spot a couple of penguins in a little bay and also some bachelor NZ fur seals just hanging out on a rock - appropriately named Seal Point. The scenery is breathtaking and our photos dont really do it justice

  

  

  We head home, the girls falling asleep on the way - only to find that Nicole has lost her beloved hat!