| Milford Sound, another fiord, is the place to visit in Fiordland, and most
tourists do. We decided to drive the 120 Kms from our Doubtful Sound base at Te Anau to
see the sound and the scenery along the highway. Milford Sound does not
have a campground or motor camp with cabins, so it was easier for us to do a day trip
instead of spending a lot of money at a fancy resort.
Most tourists are driven to Milford by tour busses for a day of sight seeing. |
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The highway twists and turns from one river valley to another. The road is
narrow and in places there is barely enough room for two cars to pass. But the scenery is
worth it. The weather was sunny as we started early in the morning and got progressively
worse through the day. More rain and mist to hide the mountain peaks. |
| At one scenic stop we were surprised by this large parrotlike bird that came
bouncing along toward us. This is a Kea, an alpine parrot that lives only in New Zealand.
We had hoped to spot Keas at Albert Pass two weeks ago but didn't see any there. These
birds are rather inquisitive, are not afraid of people and like to rip open knapsacks
looking for food. They have been known to rip the rubber mouldings from around car windows
to try to get at food inside cars. Further down the road at the tunnel entrance we stopped
to take pictures and several Keas landed on the roof of our car with the intention of
doing mischief. |
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The glacially carved valleys are clearly evident along the Milford Highway. The
bare rock mountain walls and the U shaped valleys indicate many years of glacial carving. |
| There are short walks along the highway to interesting and scenic spots. We
walked to a waterfall within a chasm fed by a rocky stream. The carved rocks resemble
Henry Moore sculptures. |
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At Homers tunnel the highway cuts through a mountain for 1.25 kilometers. This
is a narrow, straight, unlit tunnel that descends into a large valley on the other side.
There are two places where busses can pass each other. As we entered the tunnel we
promptly got stopped behind a bus. He was waiting at the top passing point for a bus and
campervan to go by before continuing. |
| At the other end of the tunnel the road descends swiftly switchbacking several
times before reaching the valley floor. |
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Even though by this time the rain came down in earnest and the clouds descended
on the mountain peaks, the trip to Milford Sound was worth it. |
| Bowen Falls drops about 100 meters almost directly into the Sound. There is a
boardwalk leading from the Visitors Centre to the falls. A nice scenic spot but
unfortunately also quite buggy. |
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The rain had started in earnest as we headed back 120 Kms to our campground in
Te Anua. Even in the rain, we stopped several times to see the sights and take a photo or
two of the wild flowers. |
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S/V
TETHYS