Blogs from Milford Sound, Fiordland National Park, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania

We survived the Milford Track! We woke up bright and early to catch our bus from Queenstown to Te Anau. It was pouring the whole ride their and the weather forcast posted at the Fiordland National Park visitor center predicted rain for the next several days. Yuck. We knew it rained a lot in this part of the country (the average annual rainfall in Milford is 276 inches), but it had actually been a pretty dry summer in this part of the country and we were hoping for at least 1 nice day out of the 4 that we were hiking. The trailhead is not accessible by road, so we had to take a boat across Lake Te Anau. By the time we got off the boat the rain had eased up a bit and we ... read more

Gisteren waren we de tunnel al doorgereden. Eigenlijk ging Jan rijden, want ik ben nogal een broekschijter in een donkere tunnel , maar voor dat we het wisten zat ik aan het stuur in de tunnel. Gelukkig had ik de tunnel voor mezelf =) Gisterenavond reden we het dorpje in. Je moet je er niet te veel bij voorstellen. Er zijn 2 lodges , waarvan 1 campers ontvangt. Je staat met je wagen gewoon op de parking tussen de andere auto's. Wij hadden geluk. We gingen tussen de lodges staan en gebaarden ons van niets. Er is in het dorp ook 1 café en 2 grote parkings, een klein vliegveld (voor scenic flights) en een groot aanlegmeer voor de cruises. That's it! Er wonen hier amper 120 mensen , waarvan géén één in de winter. Even ... read more

We boarded a small 2 storey boat for our cruise through the Milford sounds. The fiords loomed among the mist casting dark shapes into the sky. We chugged up close to waterfalls - the daring getting drenched out on the front of the boat the not so daring inside watching from the windows and drinking tea. The scenery was fantastic with trees and shribs growing out of the rocks and held together by mosses and intertwining branches. We watched fiordland crested penguins bounce and stumble along the rocks before diving into the water and gliding speedily away. After dropping off the Greenstone hikers the Flying Kiwi bus set off for tonights camp on the shores of Lake Te Anau. ... read more

We’re told that Milford Sound gets 200+ days of rain a year. So the odds were certainly in favour of the rain, and that’s what we got for the most part. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though. The drive to Milford Sound in the rain was absolutely spectacular, possibly one of the best drives in the World. The road carves through the mountains and you are surrounded by sheer rock faces that are covered in temporary waterfalls. The rain made taking photos difficult so we didn’t do it justice at all, but we just enjoyed the experience. One afternoon the rain stopped long enough for us to take a cruise out into the Sound. We had a two for one deal through our car rental so it was actually pretty good value. There are also ... read more

More goodbyes today and then it's off for some sea kayaking on Milford Sound. There are seven of us plus our guide, Luke. We're in double kayaks and I'm paired with the guide. After gearing up, we jump on a small boat (the Sea Ka) that also carries the kayaks and head out into the Sound. After dropping the kayaks we jump in (on the water entry) and start paddling. First stop is a little farther out into the Sound to visit some NZ fur seals. It's a small group of adolescent males sleeping on an outcrop of rocks. They smell really bad, but getting up close is pretty fantastic. The scenery is pretty good, too. The cliffs rise up over 500 metres into a clear sky. The only waves are from the cruise boats that ... read more

It's day three and it looks like the weather is going to be fine. According tot he trail guide, this is the hardest day - it's only 14km, but it's supposed to take between 6-7 hours. Peter, Gethin, and I are the early risers, hitting the trail by 6:30. It's grey this early, in part because of the hour and in part because of a mist that gets thicker as we climb. And climb. The first two hours of the day are spent on a series of switchbacks (according to the hut ranger, on average it's a 10% grade) that rise 400 metres to the Mackinnon Pass. The mist killed any views back down the valley, but made the ascent a little cooler. I waited at the top of the pass for about an hour, hoping ... read more