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Published: September 21st 2008
Milford Sound
Bowen Falls (‘Rere Hine Te Awa’ meaning ‘waterfall of the girl of the stream’) 160 m falls drop from a hanging valley in the Darren Ranges.Alarms were set for 4:30am this morning. It was a good job we didn’t go to sleep any later than we did last night, otherwise we’d have really struggled. Breakfast was at 5:30am, so we had an hour to get ready. I don’t know how all the girls managed. There were four of them in each of the rooms. They must have had to get up a whole lot earlier than us, so that they could all get ready in time.
Anyway, we were all done, so went and had our ‘brekkie’. Everyone looked half asleep still, including me. Had some cereal and juice, and by 6am we were all up and ready to hit the road.
We had the ‘morning song’, as usual and left for Milford Sound.
Milford is only about 20 miles ‘as the crow flies’ from Queenstown. However, it is a 3-hour drive by road, as we journey south (away from Milford) for one hour, then west up to Te Anau, where we stopped for a break. It was still very early at the time, so was very quiet. Te Anau also resides by Lake Te Anau. It was very peaceful here, but cold
Milford Sound
Onwards through Milford Sound. that morning. It was another good spot for some video taking.
Te Anau takes it name from ‘Te Ana-au’, meaning ‘cave with a current of swirling water’. Fjordland National Park and Kepler Track are on the far side of the lake. Te Anau is also home to Gloworm Caves.
After Te Anau we had another stop at the Mirror Lakes. This was yet another good spot for photos. We were now travelling northwards, so towards Milford. We also stopped a short way on from there, at a place, which was overlooked by the Earl Mountains. A few of us had our photos taken with this nice backdrop.
We also had to go through the Homer Tunnel, which is an amazing piece of workmanship. Nick did this thing where he drove through the tunnel with the main beam, whilst at the same time playing the ‘Star Wars’ theme tune.
Homer Tunnel - A brief history
The Homer Tunnel was started in 1935 under a Public Works Scheme employing five men using shovels and wheelbarrows, this number of men was later increased and mechanization was fully introduced in 1946. The drive was holed through in 1940, work
Milford Sound
Looking back with Bowen Falls just in sight. was completed in 1953. It was carried out at an elevation of 3000 ft. in an area that averages 250 inches of rainfall per year. The tunnel drops 400 ft. in ¾ mile and the road from the tunnel to Milford Sound descends 2300 ft. in 12 miles. This tunnel
is one-way for most of the length, meaning there can be
problems if one coach meets another!!!
We eventually arrived at Milford, which is a tiny settlement (pop. 170), solely there for the tourist business. Kim went off and got our tickets, whilst Nick had to park up. It was really busy when we got there, with about five more tour parties arriving at the same time as us.
Milford Sound - A brief history
Milford Sound was formed by glacial action with walls rising 1200 metres vertically from the sea and plunging to a depth of 290 metres. With an annual rainfall of 6273 mm per year, numerous waterfalls cascade from hanging valleys. Another spectacular sight in the Sounds is Mitre Peak which rises 1695 metres straight from the sea. This is one of New Zealand’s most famous tourist attractions. It’s the most visited of
Milford Sound
A Fjordland Crested Penguin, one of the world’s rarest species. all the fjords, and is also one of the most instantly breathtaking. It is 22 km long and is dominated by the 1695-metre high Mitre Peak.
After a short wait, we made our way to the cruise boat that was to take us on the hour-and-a-half cruise of Milford Sound.
As we boarded the boat, they were taking random complimentary photos of tourists. They don’t miss a way of making money these days do they?
We went and sat on the lower deck of the boat at first. Some of us had bought some eats when we had stopped off at Te Anau, so we had them then. Little did we realise that it only like 9:30 in the morning, and there we were tucking into our lunch! To go with lunch, there were complimentary drinks on board, however these were non-alcoholic.
After ten or twenty minutes the cruise started, so most of us then went up onto the top deck. It was quite busy, but we were quick enough to get quite a good spot midway down the boat, and right next to the edge, so that we would not have any trouble
Milford Sound
Dale Point to the left, which marks the northern point of the entrance to Milford Sound. seeing everything.
The cruise started off at the most inland point of the Sound, which, by the way, should be called a fjord. The route of the cruise would mean we cruised up along one side of the Sound, and would turn back round at the outermost point of the Sound before we joined the South Pacific Ocean, and coast back along the other side before coming back to the quayside.
It was very busy around Milford Sound (link 1, link 2, link 3) that day, with canoeists, gliders and small planes, all taking advantage of the clear, sunny day and the amazing scenery. There was an introduction commentary given out over the tannoy, as we reached key moments.
First on our left was Mitre Peak, which is a large mountain that rises straight from the sea. As it was sunny, and there’d been good mildish weather there wasn’t any snow on the peak. To our right on the other side of the fjord was Bowen Falls. This was a very fast flowing waterfall. The Maori name for this waterfall was ‘Rere Hine Te Awa’, which means ‘waterfall of the girl of the stream’. The falls drop
Milford Sound
Some of my Connections group left to right: me, Kevin (Melbourne, Australia), Sam (London), Sam (Guildford, Surrey), Wendy (Toronto,
Canada) and Christiano (Brazil). 160 metres from the hanging valley. Next along on our left, was the Four Sisters. These are four small channels of water, that when it’s rained they turn into small waterfalls. When we went, as it hadn’t rained for a while, they were just trickling with water.
As we looked over the other side of the boat, we could see the imposing backdrop of Mt. Phillips, which is part of the Phillips Range of mountains.
I was with Sam, Wendy, Kevin, Christiano and another girl called Sam, who was also from London, England. I didn’t get to speak with her much, though she was doing the same as me, the 6-day reverse Southern Explorer tour.
It was really nice cruising along and having this amazing and quite intimidating landscape all around us. We spotted a Little Blue Penguin jumping around on some rocks near to the shoreline, so the boat slowed down, so we could take photos and video. It was quite funny, as it was jumping from rock to rock, but every now and then it would stop and give it’s tiny tail a little wiggle, before jumping off again. It looked so cute!
After
Milford Sound
New Zealand Fur Seals basking in the sun. about forty-five minutes we reached the furthest point of the Sound, Dale Point. This was where it joined with the ocean. It was unbelievably windy here, as there were obviously two wind currents and sea currents going into one. It wasn’t a cold day, very clear, which is apparently quite rare. It was the perfect type of day to visit, though if you visit just after a rainy day, then it is supposed to be quite a spectacle, as all of a sudden waterfalls spring from nowhere.
As we cruised further on we passed a New Zealand fur seal colony. There were about ten seals there, which were about five or six feet long, and were basking themselves in the sun. They weren’t at all bothered that we were there. I suppose they must get used to it all by now.
A little way on, and we came to another waterfall, Stirling Falls (‘Wai Maanu’ in Maori). The commentator said that we were going to inspect this waterfall a lot closer, and to make sure that if we were carrying video equipment or cameras, that we should keep them covered for the moment if you were at the
front of the boat. I was about halfway down the boat still, so I was ok. The boat drew closer and closer to this waterfall, until it was near enough on top of us. Those at the front must have got absolutely drenched as they were under the falls.
The boat stopped off at Harrigan Cove, where there was an underwater aquarium there, which some tourists had paid extra to see, but we didn’t have enough time for this. We saw Mt Tutoko in the distance.
The crashing noise of the water was amazing too and, as we passed Bowen Falls for the second time, it now seemed to have grown in size and seemed a lot bigger than the first time when our cruise started. I'm not sure why it seemed like that.
I was a bit pleased that the cruise was drawing to a close, as there were too many people on deck during the return leg. Most of them were Oriental and seemed to be scrambling around having their photos taken every couple of minutes, and almost nudging you out of the way, so they could get a better spot. It got to be
Milford Sound
Stirling Falls (‘Wai Maanu’ meaning ‘whale resting on the sea’). These falls are 155 m high, and are named after Captain Stirling of HMS Clio. quite annoying.
So then we all made it back to the entrance foyer there, all seemingly cursing these Oriental tourists. That was the other frustrating thing, as we were docking, that all of these others, more or less, pushed their way through, trying to be the first off the boat.
We eventually all made it out to the coach, and then started our journey back to Queenstown. I was now sitting next to Tania. She was very quiet. I remember her being from Melbourne, Australia, though I don’t recall what she did there. We had a little chat, and she was really nice.
Nick stopped off at a couple of photo opportunities, where we all got off to stretch our legs. First we stopped off at Key Summit viewpoint, where there was a large balcony overlooking the rainforest canopy, and shortly afterwards, at Cascade Creek, near Lake Gunn. It was a good way of breaking up the daunting journey back ‘home’.
Then we drove back through Homer Tunnel, where we again had to experience the tunnel with the headlights on full beam, and the ‘Star Wars’ music being played. The lights bounced back off the tunnel
Milford Sound
Looking back to Stirling Falls, after the cruise boat had stopped right under the waterfall, getting a lot of people soaked at the front of the cruise ship. sides, and gave a sort of ‘light tunnel’ effect.
Nick then put on the ‘Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ dvd. Obviously, I’d already seen this, but it was really quite fitting that we should watch it again, but in it’s homeland, being surrounded by all the lovely landscapes, which frequently made their way into the picture. Tania mentioned that she hadn’t seen either this or the first film, so I filled her in with the basics from the first film, so that she would know what’s happening, and why.
Another thing we noticed on the way back was in some of the fields; there were small piles of stones, one on top of the other, in piles about six or seven stones high. They were all different sizes, and were stacked in a way that seemed to signify something. We didn’t know, and to this day, still don’t know why, though I’m sure it must be something to do with some ritual, keeping away bad spirits from the fields, and protecting the sheep that grazed there.
Casually glancing up around the mountains, we also picked out odd clutches of sheep, which were really quite high
Milford Sound
How small do the cruise ships look against the landscape, some 300 m above the waterline. up. Higher than we’d have thought they would have gone - nearly up as high as the snowline, and also on perilously steep and angled areas of mountain.
It was good to see the film again, and seemed to unite the group a little more. There was good banter all the time at the front of the coach, with the Sam’s, Jess, Dayna and Nat, all seeming to break out in fits of laughter. Nick and Kim also went along with it a lot too, even if it was about them!!!
We made it home by around 6pm. Kim hadn’t come along today; perhaps she had been arranging everyone’s options for tomorrow. She’d prepared dinner for us all too, so once we’d all freshened up, we met back up again for our meal of pork in spicy sauce, spuds, salad and corn-on-the-cob. It was really nice.
After our eats, some of us went to the hotel lounge bar, where they had comfy sofas. I think that night, it Was Jo and her fella, Jarrod and his missus, Christiano, Kevin and, also for a time, Nick and Kim. We chatted about all sorts of stories and experiences for
Milford Sound
Cruising towards Harrison Cove. at least a few hours. After all the distance covered today, most of the group had turned in after dinner, and we followed quite a while after, but still at the unbelievably early time of 10:20pm.
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