This was another early morning start, but it paid dividends as the day went on. Our destination was Milford Sound, but to get there from Te Anau required a nearly three hour drive by bus. Fortunately, the drive was through Fiordland National Park and is one of the most scenic roadways in New Zealand — and quite possibly, one of the most scenic anywhere in the world. This is the area known as “The Southern Alps.”
It was easy to see when we entered the national park, because the land adjacent has all been cleared for “sheep stations,” large ranches for grazing sheep and cattle. At the park entry we were suddenly surrounded by dense beech forest. However, we learned that the 18th century botanists who accompanied the first explorers named the trees in error. They are not related to the beech trees found in the northern hemisphere. They only look similar. Nevertheless, the name stuck.
One of our first stops was the “flat” of the Eglinton River valley. Glaciers left this wide, flat grassland surrounded on both sides by steep, almost vertical stone mountainsides.
Next stop was Mirror Lakes. These lakes are really just large ponds that, when they are still, provide a beautiful mirror image of the surrounding mountains. On this day, they were rippled by wind and ducks fishing for their breakfast. But we could still get the idea, and the water was so clear that we could see eels swimming below the surface.
At another photo stop, we were distracted from the scenery by the discovery that, as soon as our bus had stopped, a Kea had landed on the roof of the coach. The Kea is a variety of parrot found only in New Zealand. In this environment, they evolved to lose their bright plumage everywhere except on the underside of their wings. They are a dull green, but when in flight, their bright orange and yellow feathers can be seen.
The Kea is considered by some to be the smartest bird in the world, often working in teams of four or five in which one bird will create a distraction so that the others can snatch food.
Landing atop our bus is a classic trick, often vandalizing the vehicle by pecking at radio antennas or rubber door seals, in order to draw picnicking humans away from their tables. You may have a gaggle of geese, or a murder of crows, but a group of Kea is called a “circus,” because their tricks are so clever and entertaining!
As our bus climed to an altitude of about 1,750 feet, we passed “The Divide.” This is not exactly a continental divide, rather a divide between continents. The South Island of New Zealand strattles the fault line where the Pacific tectonic plate is pushing against the Australian plate. This is what has formed these mountains, and what causes all of New Zealand to be prone to earthquakes.
Climbing higher, we reached the Homer Tunnel. This 3/4 mile long tunnel, carved through solid rock, was the final link to be completed in the building of this road. Begun as a public works project during the Depression in the 1930s, work was interrupted by WW II and not completed until 1953. Prior to that time, the only way to Milford Sound was by boat or by walking — a four day backpacking hike.
Because of our early departure, there were almost no other tour buses ahead of us and we were making good time. This made it possible for us to stop at The Chasm, a waterfall on the Cleddau River (named after the River Cleddau in Wales). After our short hike to see the falls, we returned to the parking lot to find several Kea trying their tricks in this parking lot, as well. One was on top of a tourist’s car, pecking at the straps holding a kayak on the roof, while the others awaited an opportunity.
We finally arrived at Milford Sound, and while waiting to board our boat, found the Moari explanation for all of the pesky black flies that have been biting us at every stop. According to legend, they are to keep humans from staying too long in such a beautiful place.
The boat was another motor catamaran, similar to those we have encountered before. We had assigned tables with our sack lunches already prepared, but we were free to roam to the observation decks. Immediately upon leaving the dock, we had a fabulous view of the iconic Mitre Peak, which is featured in almost every New Zealand tourist brochure.
We were fortunate that the clouds were well above the tops of the mountains, and that we even got occasional peeks of sunshine. This area is one of the wettest in the world, with average rainfall of around 315 inches per year (that’s more than 26 feet of rainfall!) and rain on more than 200 days in every 365. This was a very good day on Milford Sound.
It was explained to us (more than once) that Milford Sound isn’t technically a sound at all. But the British explorers had no word for fjord, because there aren’t any in Britain (and apparently none of them had ever sailed to Norway). A sound is the wide, tidewater mouth of a river. A fjord was carved by glaciers. Milford was created by glaciers that left its sides very steep and its waters very deep.
The views were spectacular as we sailed against the wind toward the Tasman Sea. The waters grew rough as we turned into open ocean, but we weren’t there for long, returning quickly to the Sound.
On the way back, we were entertained by seals sunning themselves on a rock on the north side. We also had the opportunity to get soaked by Stirling Falls, a large waterfall.
When we returned to the parking lot after disembarking the boat, we were amazed at the number of buses and cars that had come in while we were away. It paid to get up early, because tourists flock here by the thousands at this time of year. We were ahead of them all.
Back in Te Anau we had the chance to walk along the lake, do a bit of shopping, and grab a good, light dinner at a food truck parked at the edge of the business district, across from a supermarket. We are at 45 degrees south latitude (as far south as Minneapolis is north) so at this time of year the sun stays in the sky late.
It was easy to see when we entered the national park, because the land adjacent has all been cleared for “sheep stations,” large ranches for grazing sheep and cattle. At the park entry we were suddenly surrounded by dense beech forest. However, we learned that the 18th century botanists who accompanied the first explorers named the trees in error. They are not related to the beech trees found in the northern hemisphere. They only look similar. Nevertheless, the name stuck.
The Kea is considered by some to be the smartest bird in the world, often working in teams of four or five in which one bird will create a distraction so that the others can snatch food.
As our bus climed to an altitude of about 1,750 feet, we passed “The Divide.” This is not exactly a continental divide, rather a divide between continents. The South Island of New Zealand strattles the fault line where the Pacific tectonic plate is pushing against the Australian plate. This is what has formed these mountains, and what causes all of New Zealand to be prone to earthquakes.
Climbing higher, we reached the Homer Tunnel. This 3/4 mile long tunnel, carved through solid rock, was the final link to be completed in the building of this road. Begun as a public works project during the Depression in the 1930s, work was interrupted by WW II and not completed until 1953. Prior to that time, the only way to Milford Sound was by boat or by walking — a four day backpacking hike.
Because of our early departure, there were almost no other tour buses ahead of us and we were making good time. This made it possible for us to stop at The Chasm, a waterfall on the Cleddau River (named after the River Cleddau in Wales). After our short hike to see the falls, we returned to the parking lot to find several Kea trying their tricks in this parking lot, as well. One was on top of a tourist’s car, pecking at the straps holding a kayak on the roof, while the others awaited an opportunity.
Back in Te Anau we had the chance to walk along the lake, do a bit of shopping, and grab a good, light dinner at a food truck parked at the edge of the business district, across from a supermarket. We are at 45 degrees south latitude (as far south as Minneapolis is north) so at this time of year the sun stays in the sky late.
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