The Milford Sound

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The Milford Sound

The western coast of the Southern Island is home to 14 different fiords (that's how it's spelled in New Zealand). Fiords are valleys that have been carved into the mountains by the glaciers. We took a 2 hour boat road on the Milford Sound, possibly the best known and the most easily reached of the fiords.

Here are the pictures. Except for his picture, all of them were taken by Bob. (Click on any picture for a larger image):

This picture was taken en route to Milford Sound. There are sheep everywhere. Although there are now only about 10 sheep for every New Zealander, down from about 20 per, it's hard to go any place without seeing them. There are lots of cows, too.

This picture was taken at Mirror Lake, so called because it reflects the mountains behind it. Some clever person in the Department of Conservation put up a sign that it is meant to be read -- through a mirror effect -- in its reflection in the lake.

Is it a mirror lake? You be the judge.

We've arrived at Milford Sound. We took our trip in the small-ish boat on the left. It holds about 60, though there weren't more than 30 people on the day we went.

Some of the boats are huge and hold several hundred people.

Waterfalls abound throughout the island and the fiords are no exception. Here are a few different views to provide a sense of the scale of the fiord.

Notice the boat in the bottom righthand corner.

It was too bad we were out on a cloudy day, but that's fairly typically weather for this area. On the plus side, recent rainstorms had reinvigorated the waterfalls.

The boat we were on went as far as the mouth of the Tasman Sea, the outlet for the Milford Sound. This is looking back into the fiord from the Tasman Sea.

It appears from this vantage point that the fiord is a dead end. The Milford Sound went unexplored for many years, as captains in sailing ships were reluctant to commit their boats to entering what looked like a dead end, with possibly no wind to enable them to maneuver out.

If you look closely, you'll notice the seals on the rock in the lower lefthand corner of the picture.

We came quite close to the seals. They were apparently used to the presence of onlookers. The ones that bothered to check us out mostly looked bored by what they saw.

Have I mentioned there were a lot of waterfalls?

And, finally, three pictures of Mitre Peak, so named because it looks like a bishop's mitre. The boat in the left hand corner provides some perspective for the size of the peak

Bob at Mitre Peak.

And, to end, the picture post card view of Mitre Peak.

...Back to Tongariro On to the Kepler Track...

	This picture was taken en route to Milford Sound. There are sheep everywhere. Although there are now only about 10 sheep for every New Zealander, down from about 20 per, it's hard to go any place without seeing them. There are lots of cows, too.
	This picture was taken at Mirror Lake, so called because it reflects the mountains behind it. Some clever person in the Department of Conservation put up a sign that it is meant to be read -- through a mirror effect -- in its reflection in the lake. Is it a mirror lake? You be the judge.
	We've arrived at Milford Sound. We took our trip in the small-ish boat on the left. It holds about 60, though there weren't more than 30 people on the day we went. Some of the boats are huge and hold several hundred people.
	Waterfalls abound throughout the island and the fiords are no exception. Here are a few different views to provide a sense of the scale of the fiord.
	Notice the boat in the bottom righthand corner.
	It was too bad we were out on a cloudy day, but that's fairly typically weather for this area. On the plus side, recent rainstorms had reinvigorated the waterfalls.
	The boat we were on went as far as the mouth of the Tasman Sea, the outlet for the Milford Sound. This is looking back into the fiord from the Tasman Sea. It appears from this vantage point that the fiord is a dead end. The Milford Sound went unexplored for many years, as captains in sailing ships were reluctant to commit their boats to entering what looked like a dead end, with possibly no wind to enable them to maneuver out.
	If you look closely, you'll notice the seals on the rock in the lower lefthand corner of the picture.
	We came quite close to the seals. They were apparently used to the presence of onlookers. The ones that bothered to check us out mostly looked bored by what they saw.
	Have I mentioned there were a lot of waterfalls?
	And, finally, three pictures of Mitre Peak, so named because it looks like a bishop's mitre. The boat in the left hand corner provides some perspective for the size of the peak
	Bob at Mitre Peak.
	And, to end, the picture post card view of Mitre Peak.
...Back to Tongariro	On to the Kepler Track...