New Zealand -- Milford Sound

 

One of the highlights of our Queenstown leg was our journey 180 miles west to Milford Sound near the Tasmanian Sea. The virgin forests, mountains, rivers, and waterfalls were like a return to "Jurassic Park". In fact, our bus driver-guide played the theme music from this film on his audio player as we entered the Sound.

As our boat took us through the Sound, we were dazzled by the steep mountains that met the salt water. These sights were quite moving for me and the Sound became one of several places in the world where I could sense God in the raw and untouched natural environment.

Below are some of the breath-taking sights of Milford Sound, which turned out to be both an unforgettable and unutterable experience. The waterfalls were the most intriguing, and I was able to take photos of them from different angles.

 

The boat captain knew how to please his passengers by moving closely to the shore where we could see seals lounging on the rocks and feel the sprinkles of waterfalls. 

 

 

 Our trusty boat (on the left) toured us through these beautiful waters. Upon boarding, we quickly claimed a table where we would eat our provided and delicious box lunch that included a well-stacked ham and cheese sandwich, an apple, and a brownie. We gobbled down our lunches so we could go out on deck to see the natural wonders before us. Although the boat captain provided a commentary, it was difficult to hear. However, the scenery provided enough visual stimulation that the commentary didn't matter.

 

The Road to Milford Sound

We began our four-hour bus ride to the Sound at 7 a.m. A taxi met us at the hotel at 6:45 to take us to the bus depot where several other buses were also departing for the same destination. When we boarded our bus, it was completely full. It was easy to see that Milford Sound attracts between 550,000 and 1 million visitors per year and is one of the most-visited tourist spots in the country. 

 

Our driver/guide broke up the long ride as his mellifluous voice expertly related stories of the area in a BBC radio style in an interesting and compelling way. Originally from England, he has lived in New Zealand for the past 11 years.

 

After a couple hours of riding, we stopped at a country café. However, with several buses all stopping in the same place at the same time, we engaged in a big scramble among scores of people to compete for toilets and the snack bar. This was not easy to do in just 30 minutes and be back on the bus!  However, some of my fellow travelers were adept enough at buying t-shirts, hats, or cuddly koala bears as well as finding something to eat and making a visit to the rest room. I was barely able to to hit the bathroom, eat a blueberry muffin, drink a cup of tea, and make it back to the bus. Although this part of the trip was extremely stressful, it was part of what made the trip an adventure. 

Our bus took off with everyone on it at the appointed time. However, it wasn't long before one of the kids on the bus vomited and then started crying out of embarrassment. Blinky, our guide, was seated near her and witnessed the disaster. He quickly ran up to the driver to tell him to stop the bus. Then he helped to clean up the mess, which was considerable. I've never seen such an emergency before on a trip but these quick-witted travel professionals were able to efficiently take care of it.

We made two other planned stops: one to Mirror Lakes and the other to a mountain lookout site. So even though the trip was long, the stops and the scenery took our minds off of the clock and made the ride quite an enjoyable. Below are some shots I took from the bus.

Trees communicate with one another. The soils here are not that good and trees live by entwining themselves with each other's roots. If one of the trees of the same root system goes bad, the entire group suffers and may die. The white line on this mountain illustrates this effect. It means that there are no trees there. Nature never ceases to amaze!

At Mirror Lakes, the driver gave us 15 minutes to view the sights.

 

 

We returned from Milford Sound tired but happy from the long day of 13 hours from start to finish. We dragged ourselves back to the hotel and planned to meet for a simple dinner at the sports bar next to the hotel.  

 

Our driver/guide played the theme from the film, "Jurassic Park", as we entered Milford Sound tourist area. Now, I will forever associate my memories of this day with this beautiful music.

The fiord was a playground for local Māori who knew its tidal and fish feeding patterns. European explorers didn't enter the Sound because they thought it would lead to a dead end. They also feared the steep mountainsides and changing wind conditions would prevent escape. Captain John Grono "discovered" the Sound around 1812 and named it Milford Haven after his homeland in Wales. In 1823, Captain John Lort Stokes renamed it Milford Sound. Thanks to the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 which recognized Māori place names, the fiord's official name is Milford Sound/Piopiotahi.

 

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milford_Sound