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Published: October 27th 2009
We overheard someone say that the massive amount of sand flies present in Milford Sound is God's way of ensuring that the place is not destroyed by over development. It was an excellent idea because you simply couldn't live there for any length of time without the flies driving you crazy. The population of the village in winter is 30 people and only jumps to 100 in the summer months, mostly made up of crewmen for the various cruises and flights on offer.
We left Queenstown early the day after our activity packed day out and made good time to Te Anau, where we stopped to have lunch by the lakeside. In Te Anau we were warned to bring good insect repellent with us to Milford Sound and to put it on before we got there. I was having visions of swarms of bugs surrounding Bitsy to greet us at the town entrance...
The journey to Milford Sound from Te Anau is 120km of twisty windy roads, including one stretch of eery darkness in the Homer Tunnel. The weather is unpredictable, and given that the area has up to 10
metres of rain each year, it was not surprising
that it was lashing down for a good portion of the journey. But what a journey it is. Rain or no rain, the views as you travel along the road are amazing. The steep mountain edges are home to lush vegetation and the occasional dollop of glacier ice. Either side of the road are pavlova-like piles of snow. The money shots however are of the mountains in the distance through the valley.
We drove towards Milford Sound for nearly two hours, oohing and aahing over each new view. Once in there we saw our planned campsite for the night, but decided to go and explore a bit of the town before we booked in. Exploring the village took exactly three minutes. There is a ferry terminal and a coffee shop (that doubles as a bar). No supermarket, no bank, no church, no petrol station. There was nothing for it only to double back to our camp site, check-in, book a tour for the following day and then hide out in the campervan from the haze of sand-flies and the rain that was pelting down. Once again we praised Paul for giving us so many films to watch on our
laptop!
The next morning we were at the terminal at 9.45am to board
The Lady of the Sounds for our two hour Encounters cruise. We were lucky with the weather as the rain held off and we could go up top on the viewing deck. As the commentary started I was pleasantly surprised to hear an Irish accent. Not only was it an Irish accent, it also seemed very local to where I am from. The guy with “Ocean” written on his name badge (apparently the only way he could get others to pronounce “Oisín”) turned out to be from Dunshaughlin, a village about 20minutes away from my home town. Oisín proceeded to tell us how Milford Sound is not actually a Sound at all, and is instead a fiord formed by glaciers, as evident from the U shaped valley as opposed to the V shape of a Sound. Although Mitre peak was mostly hidden in cloud we could still get an impression of its enormity. We passed the two permanent waterfalls in the sound, even getting a close encounter with one of them as the boat pulled up underneath Stirling Falls and we learned about the geology of
the area and the various plants that can grow on the rock surface. It almost made me wish I'd paid more attention during geography lessons.
It is very difficult to describe the beauty of Milford Sound, but it on the top ten Unesco things to see around the world for good reason. The photos tell this tale better than I, but there is a wonderfully simple beauty to the area that leaves you feeling peaceful and serene as you gaze around you.
We had also paid to visit the Milford Deep Underwater Observatory and were dropped off there on the return leg of the cruise. The observatory is fully floating, only attached to land by five big bolts. In the small building you go down a 10m spiral staircase and come face to face with all the creatures of the sea in their natural habitat. Through 120mm thick acrylic glass windows there is a 360º view of coral, starfish, sea sponge and brightly coloured big and small fish. For about half an hour you get a feel for how fish live. It's a strange experience, but very worthwhile.
Our tour also included a hot lunch in the
Blue Duck Café (where else!?) so once we were picked up by the next tour boat and deposited back at the harbour, we made our way to the café and ate a tasty meal.
There is an option of doing an overnight cruise on the sound. Apparently the boat is moored out in the middle of the fiord where you can listen to all the noises of nature as you sleep. While we were pretty happy with the more reasonably price three hour tour, if you have time to spare the overnight tour would be worth considering.
From Milford Sound we made our way to Te Anau again, where we spent the night. From Te Anau we are taking the Southern Scenic Route from Invercargill, through the Catlins and across over to Dunedin, before sprinting north to Christchurch for our flight in a few days. But that's a story for another day!
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