The Milford Sound, NZ

One of New Zealand's most popular activities is traveling to one of the 'sounds' in Fiordland National Park in the southern part of NZ's south island. The name prompted many conversations between us about the natural difference between a sound and fjord and we were eager to unravel the mystery with our own eyes. As we would soon learn, both of NZ's main 'sounds' were incorrectly named such by explorers. Both the Milford and Doubtful Sounds of NZ are actually fjords consisting of huge rocky fingers jutting into the Tasman Sea. The giant crevasses were created from a glacier cutting out a valley in the rock which then filled with sea water (over many many years). For the record, a sound is not nearly as fantastic and can simply be an oceanic inlet of a decent size or might resemble a channel.

We heard that the best way to explore the fjords is from a wee kayak floating amongst the mammoth cliffs and spewing water falls. Based on the frigid temperatures which were closing in on 0 Celsius, however, we opted for a more packaged bus-boat combination. Since we decided to keep our base in Queenstown we would have to buy a slightly more expensive package to the fjords due to the additional bus time. We easily found an outfit to pick us up from the Queenstown town centre and drive us 2 1/2 hrs. to Te Anau where we stopped for tea then continue on another three hours into Fiordland National Park where we would board a bus for two hours of sailing around Milford. And then back. It was a long 13 hour day with a packed bus of tourists, a non-stop talking tour guide, no heater on the bus (remember the 0 degrees??), icy roads and a typical bat-out-of-hell NZ driver. Anyone who might travel to NZ, avoid EcoTours and make the trip straight to Te Anau rather than leave from Queenstown. We were good sports but the entire bus seemed a bit upset with the temperature and definitely with sharp mountain turns at excessive speeds.

While the actual tour piece left much to be desired the fjord was stunning. The drive into the Park winds down a steep and narrow road and shows the rugged mountains mixed with lush rain forest . Once arriving at the bottom we boarded a boat for the two hour ferry tour. Traveling around Milford you become quickly aware of its grandeur with soaring 1200 m (which we will change to feet from here on out for your reading enjoyment), or 3937 foot cliffs shooting out of the Tasman Sea and 1000 foot troughs just below the water's surface. The cliffs also hold some of the world's largest waterfalls as well as sunning seals and birds galore. After floating through Milford we returned to land and boarded the bus for our endless ride back to Queenstown. We returned to town well after nine o'clock and headed back to Paddy's for our final night.

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