Milford Sound - Day 2

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Queenstown to Milford Sound - 307kms (expected driving time 5hrs without any stops). It was going to take us forever as there is a lot to see on that road. The aim is to get to Milford and book a cruise when we get there and hopefully they arent fully booked coz that would really suck big time.
So we checked out of our hostel and set off at 8am towards Milford Sounds.
First stop - just outside Queenstown to take in the splendid view of the Remarkable mountains, their tops covered in clouds. The are indeed quite remarkable hence the name and I suppose think must look more remarklable covered in snow.
Second stop - Te Anau. Half way between Queenstown and Milford and our snack stop. There was nothing much to see between Queenstown and Te Anau. The stop in Te Anau was quite short as it was very windy, anything you did not hold on to was being blown away. Had some crontos and juice and had quick walk along LAke Te Anau before jumping back in the car. We will be spending tomorrow night in Te Anau so we will explore it properly then - in the meantime back to business =))
Third stop - Mirror Lakes. And the beginning of my sandflies dilemma. Mirror Lakes is definately worth stopping at but without the right clothing or insect repellent you are bound to get chowed by the sandflies if you overstay. My first thought was, what? this is no lake - its more like a tiny stream then the beauty of the place takes over and you are amazed by the clarity of the reflections in the lake. you can clearly see the Earl mountain range reflected in the waters. Very stunning. They even have a sign "mirror lakes" written upside down so when you look at its reflection in the water it reads correctly. Some taking in the amazing view and a few sandfly bites later we set of again.
Fourth stop - Cascade creek. Nice short scenic walk through some lush forests, river and a small falls. The stones have been weirdly & wonderfully shaped by the water. Hard to take pics as the was areas of darkness and intense brightness where the forest opens up and the sunlight pours into the dark, lush, & very wet forest.
Fifth stop - Lake Gunn. This was a quick stop over by the road side unlike Mirror Lakes & Cascade Creek which had specailly built treks for them.
Sixth stop - One of the most beautiful stops was our lunch stop. It was unmarked so we have no idea what it was called but it was the best. It was just so beautiful - with views of snow capped mountains in the distance. We stopped here and took a few pics and also made some spam sandwiches for lunch.
Seventh stop - Homer tunnel. The Homer Tunnel is one of the main icons on the Milford Sound road. The pass is named after W.H.Homer who discovered it in 1889 and touted the idea of building a tunnel through it opening up access to the sound. The tunnel is 1.2kms in lenght and handmade by blasting way the granite in tough alpine conditions. Here we had a quick stop as the light for the tunnel us red (one way traffic) and admired the awesome scenery. Once out on the other side of the tunnel Anshu started reading on how the tunnel was built over years.
Final stop - Milford sound. Straight to the cruise office to book our place. Funnily all the cruise offices were in the one building but on the water front and so we had to shop around as all of them had places for today =) Finally dedided to enjoy an inspirational and personalised Milford Sound experience with a few like-minded others on board the M.V. Friendship - one of Milford Sound's most interesting characters - the smallest, friendliest vessel on the fiord. Booked our cruise for 3:30pm, we also chose this one as it was the longest (2hrs 15mins) and went out the furthest.

Decided to check into the accomodation quickly and have a cuppa before going on the cruise as our cruise was about an hour to go. In Milford Sound we could only find one place to stay - Milford Sound Lodge. It was the most expensive accomodation we had as it had monopoly. Most backpackers we stayed at were bwt $24 - $26. Milford Sound Lodge was $30 for a dorm bed and it was $8 extra for a duvet (everywhere else the duvet was included in the price). Had a quick cuppa and snack and headed back to the waterfront to catch the cruise. The parking area around the cruise offices was only for coaches & buses so we had to park 1km or so away from the cruise area, only we had not left enough time for walking. HAlf way to the cruise area, Anshu realised that she left the cruise tickets in the car!!! She had to run back while I continued to walk to the cruise.

We did get on the cruise and it was so amazing - it not disappoint even though we had seen so many pics of it. The mountains were higher than we thought, Mitre Peak more impressive, so windy and so cool. Due to the high volume of rain Milford Sound receives each year, up to 9 metres (making it one of the wettest places on the planet), a large layer of tannin stained fresh waterseveral metres deep accumulates above the heavier salt water. The tannin stained water acts as a filter letting in considerably less light salt water does. Due to the lack of light many species that generally live deep in the ocean can be found at relatively shallow depths. Cruising down the sound and enjoying the views of numerous falls, the lion rock, fur seals, bottle nosed dolphins and the high peaks was so worth it.

Back to Milford Sound Lodge for dinner and a snooze - more bloody sand flies at the Lodge!!! THe views from the Lodge were simply amazing, the whole area was so quite and all we could here was the sound of nature and water gushing. At first we were wondering where the sound of water was coming from as there was no stream around us. Then we discovered that the sound waas coming from the numerous waterfalls created in the mountains around us from the melting snow. The place was so natural and spectacular. Tomorrow its Te Anau.

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Photos

The Remarkables
as we leave Queenstown in the morning.

Lake Te Anau
our snack stop.

Earl Mountain Range
that reflects in the Mirror LAkes

Me
at a place we stopped at as there was a Kea (flightless parrot)

Anshu at Homer Tunnel
with some small falls cascading down from the mountains.