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Milford Sound
(Milford Sound Lodge)
The drive between Lake Te Anau and Milford Sound (119km) is reputedly the best for scenery in all New Zealand and it doesn't disappoint. Although as we cross into the Fiordland National Park the clouds begin to descend and by the time we reach Milford the scenery has completely disappeared under swathes of cloud and rain. We check into Milford Sound Lodge camping facilities and proceed to spend the whole of the rest of the day waiting out the rain in the lodge's recreation room, reading and watching films on our laptop. It's miserable out there and the only thing that's keeping us going is the promise that it'll turn tomorrow- we have a four hour kayaking trip planned. And, sure enough, later on the downpour lets up a little and then fizzles out by 8pm so we're hopeful for tomorrow. We're delighted the next morning when we spy chintzes of blue, cloudless sky through the gaps in our van's makeshift curtains. It's clear and sunny! Woohoo! The sheer cliff faces and rocky summits which rise up 360 degrees round our campsite are pretty impressive- it's the first time we've seen them. But we're not so impressed by the hundreds of pesky sandflies which keep buzzing round our heads and biting us as we try to get ready for our kayak. Oh well, you can't have everything! We're collected by our guide from Roscoe Kayaks and bussed down to the jetty at Milford Sound. The day couldn't be better and we thank our lucky stars we hadn't gone out there yesterday. It would've been an utter washout. We're kitted out with life jackets and spray skirts then motorboated 8km through Deep Water Basin and into the Sound itself- a vast sea inlet with highsided crags and snowcapped mountains on either side. We're informed that it was all shaped by glaciers in the last ice age, the water stretching 200m below us and striation marks from the passing of gigantic boulders in the ice are still plainly visible on the sides of the craggy mountains. Our two-seated kayaks are lowered into the waters, there are two more couples aswell as us, and we're asked to clamber in and ensure our sprayskirts are sealed to the holes to stop water getting into the boat. We're run through the 'what to do if your kayak capsizes' then it's off on our way, gently paddling along the sides of the crags, clinging as close as we can to get a sense of the magnitude of the mountains before us and to try and spot any wildlife on the mountainside in front of us. We're constantly passed by cruise ships touring the Sound and overhead by small planes and helicopters doing the same, so it's not quite the peaceful atmosphere you'd like. However there is a definite lull in the proceedings and we're left on our own in our self-propelled vessels to linger as long as we want, gaping up at the scenery all round us. Our serenity is dashed soon enough as we come upon the awesome Sterling Falls coming off the side of the cliffs in a torrent, swelled by the rainwater of yesterday evening. We paddle through the cold spray and are encouraged by our guide to attempt to get as close to the base as we can by paddling as quickly as possible straight for it. The spray becomes more forceful as the wind created by the force of the water hits us head on, but we do manage to get pretty far in, until we can no longer take the piercing icy water in our faces! What we'll do for a thrill! We recover and continue on along the edge of the Sound rounding an outcrop, on which a small colony of young male fur seals are basking and playing. Then we're joined by some bottle-nosed dolphins who swim alongside us showing us their slender arched bodies and fins.
The drive between Lake Te Anau and Milford Sound (119km) is reputedly the best for scenery in all New Zealand and it doesn't disappoint. Although as we cross into the Fiordland National Park the clouds begin to descend and by the time we reach Milford the scenery has completely disappeared under swathes of cloud and rain. We check into Milford Sound Lodge camping facilities and proceed to spend the whole of the rest of the day waiting out the rain in the lodge's recreation room, reading and watching films on our laptop. It's miserable out there and the only thing that's keeping us going is the promise that it'll turn tomorrow- we have a four hour kayaking trip planned. And, sure enough, later on the downpour lets up a little and then fizzles out by 8pm so we're hopeful for tomorrow. We're delighted the next morning when we spy chintzes of blue, cloudless sky through the gaps in our van's makeshift curtains. It's clear and sunny! Woohoo! The sheer cliff faces and rocky summits which rise up 360 degrees round our campsite are pretty impressive- it's the first time we've seen them. But we're not so impressed by the hundreds of pesky sandflies which keep buzzing round our heads and biting us as we try to get ready for our kayak. Oh well, you can't have everything! We're collected by our guide from Roscoe Kayaks and bussed down to the jetty at Milford Sound. The day couldn't be better and we thank our lucky stars we hadn't gone out there yesterday. It would've been an utter washout. We're kitted out with life jackets and spray skirts then motorboated 8km through Deep Water Basin and into the Sound itself- a vast sea inlet with highsided crags and snowcapped mountains on either side. We're informed that it was all shaped by glaciers in the last ice age, the water stretching 200m below us and striation marks from the passing of gigantic boulders in the ice are still plainly visible on the sides of the craggy mountains. Our two-seated kayaks are lowered into the waters, there are two more couples aswell as us, and we're asked to clamber in and ensure our sprayskirts are sealed to the holes to stop water getting into the boat. We're run through the 'what to do if your kayak capsizes' then it's off on our way, gently paddling along the sides of the crags, clinging as close as we can to get a sense of the magnitude of the mountains before us and to try and spot any wildlife on the mountainside in front of us. We're constantly passed by cruise ships touring the Sound and overhead by small planes and helicopters doing the same, so it's not quite the peaceful atmosphere you'd like. However there is a definite lull in the proceedings and we're left on our own in our self-propelled vessels to linger as long as we want, gaping up at the scenery all round us. Our serenity is dashed soon enough as we come upon the awesome Sterling Falls coming off the side of the cliffs in a torrent, swelled by the rainwater of yesterday evening. We paddle through the cold spray and are encouraged by our guide to attempt to get as close to the base as we can by paddling as quickly as possible straight for it. The spray becomes more forceful as the wind created by the force of the water hits us head on, but we do manage to get pretty far in, until we can no longer take the piercing icy water in our faces! What we'll do for a thrill! We recover and continue on along the edge of the Sound rounding an outcrop, on which a small colony of young male fur seals are basking and playing. Then we're joined by some bottle-nosed dolphins who swim alongside us showing us their slender arched bodies and fins.
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We paddle up to a stoney beach to get out of the kayaks for a lunch break- it's magic to think this bay is only accessible by water. Then it's a push-off back into the waters for the paddle back. Unfortunately Greg's spray skirt seems to have sprung a leak and is letting in water each time we crash through a wave coming from behind us. This makes us quite unsteady and there's a couple of times when we're riding the wave and I feel like we're wobbling and about to capsize. I'm more worried about the cameras in the dry bags getting wet if we capsize than me though! It doesn't happen fortunately though and we make it back to the jetty safe and sound. My first kayak experience- a pretty good one on the whole. Because it's still such a beautiful day we try to make the most of it by stopping off on the road back from Milford through the alpine scenery,.JPG)
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alpine scenery on the Milford road
at Chasm Falls, the tunnel where the cheeky mountain Kea parrots keep watch at either end for tourist pickings and Key Summit track- the beginning of the Routeburn Great Walk. It takes us just over an hour to reach the Key Summit pass where it's possible to view three different mountain ranges on either side.
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It's well worth the climb and with the light starting to fail across the still cloudless skies we feel pretty special to be one of the last people on the mountains today to experience their serene beauty. The Southern Fiordland district has been the most impressive area on our New Zealand trip so far- the mountains are awesome grey black crags with gushing waterfalls, turquoise river waters, snow capped peaks and lush green rainforests.
