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| Lake Te Anau |
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| Brian & Lyn on Tour |
Our trip down South also included a "Bucket List" trip to Milford Sound. I have been before but Lyn had never experienced this wondrous NZ scenic spot. We decided to book a combined bus and boat trip, so that I would get to see everything without having to drive our hire car. We were collected from our Te Anau hotel at 8.30am after a nice breakfast and taken to the bus depot in town. Our bus was waiting for a number of young Asian passengers who had slept all the way from the Queenstown where the journey originated from (they had been partying hard the night before) Our bus driver Bruce lived at Arrowtown, so he had a long day ahead of him.
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| Mirror Lakes |
I remembered many of the scenic spots from my previous trip to Milford many years earlier, and over the years these had changed dramatically and in fact the road signs advertising the "Valley of the Disappearing Mountains" had been removed completely as the trees had blocked out this unusual visual optical illusion from the highway.
The "Mirror Lakes" area had been upgraded and although it was overcast, the view from the extensive wooden deck was great and we managed a photo or two.
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| Mt Christina Fiordland National Park |
The weather improved as the journey progressed and the low lying clouds lifted so that our view from the bus was spectacular.
We stopped at a number of scenic lay-bys until we reached the Homer Tunnel portal where we stopped to chat up a Kea that showed interest in the bus party
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| Kea with a stick |
These are the birds famous for wrecking any windscreen wipers they can get at.
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| On the Highway to Milford Sound |
The scenery throughout the trip is fantastic and by taking the bus tour you get to see the scenery without worrying about any other traffic.
On a previous visit to Milford Sound by car my mate Dennis and I narrowly missed a snow landside and avalanche that happened just as we were taking photos outside the portal, but this time the weather was quite pleasant and it wasn't long before we descended the tunnel to reach Milford.
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| Homer Tunnel Approaches |
On a previous visit to Milford Sound by car my mate Dennis and I narrowly missed a snow landside and avalanche that happened just as we were taking photos outside the portal, but this time the weather was quite pleasant and it wasn't long before we descended the tunnel to reach Milford.
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| Boarding at Milford Sound |
I didn't recognize the tourist terminal as it has all been upgraded since my previous visit and the terminal was very busy with large numbers of visitors boarding the various boats that cruised the Sounds. Not all tours went as far as the open sea such as ours and the tour lasted just over 2 hours. http://www.mitrepeak.com/attractions
We clambered aboard the boat and off we went for our cruise down the Sound, past the famous Mitre Peak to the open sea. The weather started to clear and the clouds lifted so we had a very good view of the various waterfalls and the skipper stopped often to view seals and unusual rock formations and a myriad of waterfalls including the famous "Bridal Veil". As soon as we reached the open sea and came about to head back to Milford, the wind became very strong and the temperature dropped suddenly.
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| Our Mumbai Visitor |
We had a group of Indian tourists from Mumbai on board who told me that the temperature in Mumbai had been in the late 40c! One man in particular was wearing a short sleeved red shirt and I swear the goosebumps on his bare arms were like blisters, but he assured me he wasn't cold and he then offered to take some pictures of Lyn and I. We became quite cold and the wind was howling between the narrow entrance to the Sounds, so we zipped up jackets and unfurled the jacket hoods and found a seat on deck that was protected by the ships bridge. The skipper backed the boat up to a waterfall and all those passengers who went on deck and stood at the stern, got nice and wet!
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| Mitre Peak |
Bruce was waiting with our bus at the terminal and we headed off back to Te Anau while all the young Asian tourists slept soundly once again. (Much to the drivers disgust) After a very full-on day, we both enjoyed a nice meal at our hotel and slept soundly that night before heading off to Alexandra the next morning. If you haven't visited Milford Sound, I can recommend it as a fantastic destination and I know that even in Winter it is a magical place to visit.
Climbing through the Southern Alps, State Highway 94 is through the Fiordland National Park is one of the highest and most scenic state highways in New Zealand. The highest part of the road is at 940 metres above sea level. Over one million people visit Fiordland every year and Milford Sound is one of their favourite destinations. A part of UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is no wonder that Milford Sound was described by Rudyard Kipling as the 'eighth wonder of the world'. From May to September there can often be problems with weather orientated delays.
totally agree a the hidden world for sure.
ReplyDeleteCeecee