Holiday: Day 27 – The Sound of Milford

Reading time: 4 minutes...

6.10am: Morning all! 😉. Thanks for your readership. We are now past the point of the longest holiday we’ve ever taken. Oh, the pressure!👍

Sorry for the late posting of this one – it was a long day (in almost a good way!)

Missed a previous Post?
Click HERE

Day 27 – Where are we?
(Monday, 25th November)

8.35am: We’re in Te Anau near the Fjordland National Park on the South Island of New Zealand.

Today, we’ve got a full-day excursion to the famous Milford Sound, together with a boat trip. For many, Milford Sound IS what New Zealand is all about – the scenery and wildlife. Milford Sound is known for towering Mitre Peak, plus rainforests and waterfalls such the Stirling and Bowen Falls, which plummet down its sheer sides. So, in theory, mountains, waterfalls, seals, dolphins, and no doubt gazillions of tourists like us are waiting for us!

It was a long day and just a shame that the weather wasn’t kinder for our iconic trip. We were in the hands of Luxe Tours and our Guide, Michelle, where the itinerary was

9am until 1pm: Up to 7 photo-stops and 3 ‘special experiences’
1pm until 3pm: Boat Cruise
3pm until 5pm: 3 photo opportunities

Tickets cost 315NZD each (about £145 including a hot lunch and mid-morning muffins).

As Milford Sound is all about the views, I’ve cut the chat to a minimum with this Post and let the photos tell the story.

Welcome!

We’re on the road to Milford. Michelle introduced herself as our Tour Guide and was our driver too!

On the road to Milford Sounds

A very pleasant experience!

At this point, we were wondering whether the weather forecast for Milton Sound was correct!

We were soon at the Homer Tunnel that would take down, down and down further towards Milford Sound. A fantastic feat of engineering for its time, Sporting a 1.2km tunnel through the solid rock of the Darran Mountains that was started in 1935 and finished in 1954. These days it’s an alternating up/down road, but back in the day it was two-way! Eeek! 😯. For us, at that point, Mother Nature flicked a switch and the weather changed to the rather dreary forecast shown earlier! ☹️. Boy, did it begin to rain!!!!

12.35pm: After arriving at the Terminal, it seemed that half the world had already beaten us there – it was manic – like the busiest bus terminal/railway station you’ve ever been to. Rather than the ‘quaint trip on a boat’ that I had in my mind’s eye, this was ‘sausage machine’ transport where the aim was to process as many people as possible as quickly as they could!

Thanks to Michelle, we soon had our tickets and were on the jetty looking for our transport. It was to be the appropriately named: ‘Milford Haven’.

The Boat Cruise

1.00pm: Anchors away!

Our packed-to-capacity vessel set sail for an hour ‘up’ the water and then an hour back. Oh good, it started to rain even harder!!! 😯

Yes, the weather as forecast was now officially ‘atrocious’! The area here doesn’t measure its rainfall here in inches or millimetres, instead, it’s done in METRES – and for Milford, it’s around 6-9 metres per year! Typically, 180-200 days of rain per year is quite normal, where in September, the only had FOUR dry days! Yuk!

It certain;y looked and felt liked it. Photography was impossible from inside as the windows were obviously covered in rain.

TODAY’S TRIVIA: Why Milford SOUND? A ‘Sound’ is a river valley flooded by the sea, whereas a FJORD is a river valley carved out by glaciers.

Today was beginning to turn out to be the worst possible day for photographs. It was hammering it down outside, where only a few brave souls had ventured out onto the deck to capture the experience! 🙄⛈️☔. Eventually, it was my turn! With two coats and a rather unfashionable, but practical, hat (sorry, all pics destroyed!) I took one five for the team.

Weather-aside for the moment, the waterfalls WERE spectacular! Of course, they don’t work without, err, plenty of water

2.55pm: And with the rain still behaving badly, we were back to the Terminal. Today’s top tip: Milton Sound can be a very wet location – VERY VERY wet! Dress accordingly and however ‘good’ the nearby forecast is, ignore it and base your attire on how the weather looks just before you enter the Homer Tunnel.

With everyone back onboard, Michelle headed back in the direction of Te Anau. As we got closer, just to make us feel worse, the weather improved and by the time we arrived back at the Shakespeare B&B, the Sun was shining and it was a nice warm evening.

5.24pm: Phew! Back at base, we took some time to reflect on the somewhat disappointing day. Having experienced the drive there and back safely NOT behind the steering wheel for once, we’re glad we left it to someone else. The roads close to Milford Sounds were as twisty as a twisty thing thing from Twistville – even more so that our recent experience in Akaroa – and we therefore felt exhausted on Michelle’s behalf! The weather today really took the shine off the experience (literally!). I’m sure with a bright blue sky and a dry day, we would have felt different about New Zealand’s iconic destination that’s ‘often lauded as one of the wonders of the world’ – just not today! ☹️☹️

Tomorrow, on Tuesday, we say goodbye Te Anau and drive south-eastwards and then north to Arrowtown, around 180km/100 miles away. It’s an old gold mining town, and we’re staying at the Arrowfield Apartments. Sleep tight! 💤💤