I cannot adequately describe Milford Sound. New Zealand, as a whole, is the most beautiful place I think I have ever been. From mountains, to ocean, to rolling green hills, to fields of grazing sheep, it is a truly incredible place. But Milford Sound may be the best of the best. Our first morning there, we were a little worried about the weather, as it rained all night and continued into the morning. What we didn’t realize until we opened up the drapes in our room is that the rain makes Milford an even more beautiful place. Suddenly there were 20 waterfalls coming off the mountains outside our window that weren’t there the day before when we arrived.
We took a cruise around the sound where we actually learned it’s not a sound, but fjord land. The difference is that fjords are formed by glaciers vs sounds are formed by rivers. They joked that Milford Fjord didn’t roll of the tongue like Milford Sound so they kept the name that way. It also seemed like it was the truth though. The cruise was incredible. The views were stunning regardless of the blowing rain. The fjords and waterfalls were beautiful and then to top it off, we were joined by dolphins on the last half of our trip.
We got dropped off at an underwater observatory in the middle of Harrison Cove. This area is unique given the shelter and very calm water provided by the fjords as well as an underwater shelf that was created by the sliding glacier and the dark water. The Cove's location provides a very unique phenomena called "deep water emergence". Basically all the constant rainfall and waterfalls that flow into the cove are stained with tannins from the forest which gives a layer of freshwater that sits on top of the ocean water. This creates a light screen, creating a dark environment at a very shallow depth, allowing for deep water corral to grow at 30 feet below the water's surface vs a normal 300 feet.
From the observatory we got to kayak through Milford. Our guide pointed out long dark stripes down the side of the rock where there had been tree avalanches. There is little to no soil on the fjord sides, just moss for trees to root in, so when they get very wet and heavy they will slide down the side. He said one happened during his lunch a couple months ago - it was so loud it echoed through the entire fjord. He thought it was the end.
Again, the beauty of this magical place made us completely ignore the wind, rain, and soaked pants. The pictures don’t do it justice but are better than my words. In the words of Forrest Gump, “that’s all I have to say about that.”
On the return cruise, we pulled up to one of the larger waterfalls, backing in and spraying us all with water rumored to invigorate and keep you young. It worked!
Leaving town, we needed to grab fuel. We stopped at a place where you get gas, snacks for the road trip, and grab food for the alpacas on the other side of the parking lot before you leave. - Trae
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