Prior to our coming to New Zealand, when we would frequently tell anyone who would listen about our upcoming adventure, people would inevitably say, “you have to go to Milford Sound.” Well, today, we did. This was the day we had been looking forward to for almost 8 months, and it was everything we could have hoped for and more. The thing we hadn’t anticipated was that when you talk about Milford Sound, it’s so much more than just the cruise on the Sound itself. All 120 km of the trip from Te Anau (the town where we stayed and where most people stay as a launching point for the Sound) is absolutely spectacular. It’s indescribable, really, but, having said that, here I go trying to describe it.
You begin by driving north along the shore of Lake Te Anau, the largest lake on the South Island. Just when you think you’ve seen beauty, you come up over a rise and look out over a vast valley surrounded by mountains. It’s all you can do not to stop at every lookout point to take pictures, but after a while you wonder if you really can do it justice in pictures (believe me, we tried!). There’s also the tension of not knowing exactly how long it will take to get to the Cruise dock and not wanting to miss your launch time, but suffice it to say, there are lots of photo ops. After a while of that, you begin to climb up over a pass called The Divide, after which you begin to drop sharply into yet another valley surrounded by yet more spectacular mountains. Suddenly, traffic stops as you wait your turn to go through the one lane tunnel through the mountain at the far end of the valley and 5 tense minutes later, come out on the other side, looking down into the deep, narrow valley that promises to end at the beginning of Milford Sound.
And then there’s the cruise through the Sound itself. Wow, is really the best I can say about it. Waterfalls tumble over vertical walls, canyons open up into glimpses of the towering peaks behind the towering peaks. All of this is especially interesting to me, having grown up in a place whose beauty can certainly hold its own in the world (Jackson Hole), because the landscape here is a combination of very high, rocky peaks covered by glaciers, but augmented by very steep, very high mountains that are covered with an almost jungle-like vegetation. In Wyoming, mostly what you get is a lot of granite with much less and different kind of flora. It’s a beautiful world. These turned out to be beautiful pictures, as well. The first is of an unknown mountain (to us) on the drive to Milford. The second is of Mitre Peak (I think).We were all exhausted as we made the two hour drive back down to Te Anau, wondering why we felt so tired. We really didn’t get much in the way of physical activity, we thought to ourselves. In the end, we all decided that the day was such an orchestra for the senses that it was really all too much to absorb and that, mostly, our senses were just plain spent from the experience. Did I mention the 5 kids in tow? They may have a little to do with the exhaustion as well.
Tomorrow, after two relatively relaxing nights in two beautiful family cottages, we’re off to Mount Cook, where we plan to have a giant slumber party while we stay in a nine bed dormitory at the Mount Cook YHA Hostel. The kids will love it, even if the parents don’t sleep much. That’s what we do…help to make memories!
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