One of Milford Sounds thousands of waterfalls.
One of the things we decided we'd like to see prior to coming to New Zealand was Milford Sound. Getting to Milford Sound is a bit difficult, as there is only one road in and out. After Queenstown we headed for Te Anau about two and a half hours away from Queenstown (and about an hour and a half from Milford Sound). Te Anau is a very cute town with a lot of great hiking nearby in Fiordland National Park. Our first day in the area we headed to hike part of the well know Routeburn track and did a hike called the Key Summit Track. It was a couple hour hike but gave us some unbelievable views of the mountains - and luckily we had great weather! It was sunny for most of the day and relatively clear out, so we could see pretty far. The trail was very well maintained with some areas of it being boardwalk over wetland and marsh areas. It was so green and there was tons of moss and ferns everywhere - definitely reminded me of the Pacific Northwest!
The next day we made the trek to Milford Sound, as we were staying there one night in the Milford Lodge. I was picturing Milford to be a little town, similar to what we had already seen - not the case! The only thing in the Milford area was the Milford Lodge (where we stayed), one cafe, and the Milford Sound visitors center - that's it! Driving up there it was quite rainy and we had more windy and narrow roads. As we climbed higher and higher, we were both totally blown away. Although called Milford Sound, it is actually a fiord (created by glacial erosion) located in the Fiordland National Park. Milford Sound is one of the wettest places on earth raining around 200 days of the year, with average annual rainfall of 22 feet. On a sunny, dry day there are actually only two permanent waterfalls. On a rainy day, approximately 40,000 waterfalls form in the area and come crashing down sheer rock cliffs. Unbelievable! We (luckily) hit it on a rainy day, so were able to take in all the waterfalls in their glory. We were both in shock on the drive up - we had never seen anything like these rocks and cliffs and waterfalls before, and we hadn't even seen the water yet!
We started off Thanksgiving Day with a cruise around the water so we got to see some of the waterfalls up close. We were also able to see seals and penguins from the boat! After a bit of a cruise, we were dropped off at Harrison Cove to kayak, which we were both super excited about. The kayak company gave us fleeces, rain jackets, rain pants and hats to wear while out on the water (it was a little cold). Allie and I channeled our inner rowing abilities (I have very little of this) and paddled around with our group for a little over an hour. We got to see some additional falls up close, learn more about the climate and the water, and saw some more penguins! The penguins we saw were called Tawaki penguins and they are actually an endangered species, so it was pretty special that we got to see them up close. After a great time kayaking we headed to the Milford Sound Underwater Observatory - picture a reverse aquarium, where the humans are in the glass and the fish are free to come and go as they please. The observatory is 10 meters underwater and because of the areas unique underwater environment, there are corals and sea life that you see that is typically only found at depths of more than 500 meters. It is the only place in the world where this is possible! Both of us just couldn't believe the day we had (Happy Thanksgiving to us!) and right after we got done with our tour, we hit the road to start getting further north and onto our next destination, Wanaka.
Highlights:
1. Milford Sound. Although I wasn't able to get very many good pictures due to the weather, this was truly a once in a lifetime experience. The landscape was like nothing I've ever seen before!
2. Key Summit Track - a great hike in a beautiful area.
Lessons Learned:
1. On their hiking signs, the Kiwis say "3 hour return" - meaning it is a 3 hour hike.
2. New Zealand has SO MANY hiking trails - too many for one trip, so I'll have to come back!
3. The food here is amazing - everything is so fresh and tastes so good! Even in these tiny small towns, they have great food.
4. Per a tip from a friend, we discovered licorice in New Zealand - one kind is black licorice with chocolate inside. It sounds terrible, but it is the most delicious thing you have ever tasted!
5. We have met a lot of Americans in New Zealand! People from California, Montana, Missouri. Crazy!
6. When they say Milford Sound is one of the wettest areas in the world, I think they are right - it rained non-stop the whole time we were there!
Key Summit Track view.
So many waterfalls!