Now this could get lengthy but hey, how do we even begin describing or explaining something that is known as ‘The Eighth Wonder of the World’ in a short post? We can’t, well maybe we could but we don’t want to.
Come on, it’s where DREAMS are made.
The photographs don’t even begin to do this place justice. Neither can words. But being a New Zealand must do we will none the less we certainly give it a try.
This place gets anywhere from 550,000 to One Million visitors per year, and honestly it deserves that many visitors. It’s one of the (if not THE) most popular Fiords in the world. There was no way we could pass up the opportunity to turn into a statistic and visit this place.
Annually it gets somewhere close to seven metres of rain a year, making it one of the wettest places on the earth! We got extremely lucky and it rained like crazy for a few days prior to our arrival and when we were driving there the rain ceased and a bit of blue sky emerged from the clouds.
Why were we so lucky you ask?
Heavy rain in the area causes seemingly (if not literally) thousands of temporary waterfalls to cascade down the sides of the towering snow-capped mountain peaks on the drive towards the Sound. It would be impossible to even begin trying to count how many falls we saw during our visit. Some of them looked thousands of feet tall, some faded in the wind, and some fed large blocks of snow and ice. They stand out against the dark stone of the mountains and the bright green moss that clings to the sides.
Needless to say the drive is like an epic build up in a techno song and the entire audience is just waiting for the drop.
Then we parked and took one look behind us (after basically having to reattach our jaws already) and our jaws were lost for good. There is no picture in the world that can compare to seeing it in person.
The unique black coral turns the water into a deep black which allows the peaks to reflect perfectly on the surface. The clouds dance above mountain tops allowing a peak of the blue sky every so often.
And there stood Mitre Peak. One of the arguably most photographed things in all of New Zealand.
Our cruise was the icing on the cake. It takes you all the way out to the Tasman sea, explaining some of that landmarks along the way. When you are about to enter the Tasman sea the Captain opens the bow and allows guests to experience the extreme winds upon leaving the Sound. These winds can reach up to 120km/h!!! To feel them on your face is something extremely intense and absolutely hilarious. Water splashed on our faces from the boat hitting the waves and our hair flung around whipping us in the face, all the while with the biggest smiles humanly possible.
On the return trip they bring you up close and personal with Stirling Falls (we told you we would get to it later). When we saw up close and personal we mean UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. Like get on your poncho and rain gear shit’s about to get wet on the bow. There were some Asian girls on the front of the boat with us when we reached the falls, apparently they had not heard the calls of the Captain telling people that if they didn’t want to get wet they should leave the bow. When the doors were closed, and now they were stuck on the front about to get soaking wet from a massive waterfall with no water proofing at all.
Let the hilarity ensue we say!
Luckily they were good sports and simply laughed about the situation. For us it was one of the coolest experiences we have had in New Zealand! Right after we were finished getting soaked we spotted a rare Penguin, the Fiordland Crested Penguin, enjoying a nice afternoon dip in the waters.
The drive back from the Sound doesn’t disappoint either as you see the Keas (the Mountain Parrot) lining the road, hoping to steal some food from visitors or perhaps the rubber from their windshield wipers (if you aren’t careful these guys will most certainly try to steal any piece of rubber they see off your vehicle).
It’s awe-inspiring to visit this place. Even writing this it was difficult to describe what it’s like to visit Milford Sound. It’s just something you’ll have to do on your own!
Have you ever been to Milford Sound? and if so did you manage to see any wildlife there?
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