I hate to say it, but despite the beauty of Milford Sound (which is in fact a fiord, not a sound), I'd say that it was over-rated. "What?!" I hear you cry out: "most people would put this as number one on their list of things to see and do in New Zealand". Hence, over-rated. I expected something so unequivocally breathtaking that it would literally take the air from my lungs and momentarily asphyxiate me. But having travelled for so long past mountains, lakes, and countryside unlike any I had experienced before, the spectacle was not as exemplary as I had expected in northern Fiordland.
Now, that's not to say I didn't enjoy my day out, far from it in fact. It was a great day out, and it started at a warm -4°C outside my hostel before the sun had come up. A coach of about 12 of us set out east around Lake Wakatipu and down to Te Anau, stopping along the way to see a bird which the driver helped to raise (apparently one of the oldest in the world of its species, which I can't remember the name of, but it was some sort of parrot). It was great finally arriving at Te Anau. I hadn't eaten breakfast, so it was a relief being able to buy crisps and chocolate to accompany my gourmet sandwich I'd made the night before.
We moved on, stopping at some "mirror lakes" - from all of the fog they weren't very impressive - before heading along black-iced roads through winding glacial valleys, which was exciting. And after a lovely scenic drive we arrive at Milford boat terminal. By chance, Sam and Cat from Rotorua were there as well, and they'd be travelling on the same cruise as me, so that was nice seeing familiar faces and catching up with them. It was a total surprise seeing them again, but at least now I had more than just the crazy Sith Ifricins to take photos of me!
So, we each got a boarding pass, and a "free muffin" pass, and boarded our vessel, the Milford Adventurer. It was cold out on deck, but not as bad as the morning frost had been, I suppose. Our boat pulled away from the dock, and at last we were able to all enjoy the tranquility of Milford Sound. Mitre Peak stood proudly in the cold waters of the Tasman Sea, plunging into the depths below, and we journeyed 16 km out, taking in the peace and tranquility of it all.
Just before we turned back, we came across a pod of dolphins jumping through the gentle waves towards the slowly setting sun. As we came closer, they started being more playful and came right up underneath the bow of the boat, swimming with us for a short way on our return trip. That was cool. All the way back the captain would stop at interesting points, or just for fun, such as underneath a waterfall (which apparently featured in the Wolverine movie), and a small collection of rocks with seals bobbing up and down on them.
At the end I bid farewell to Sam and Cat. They said they'd be at Pinewood the next night, so I expected to see them one last time, but never did unfortunately. And then I got on the bus to go back home.
It was too dark for meaningful commentary by that time, so we watched a movie, River Queen, to Te Anau, and after a brief stop there watched The World's Fastest Indian on the way to Queenstown, a movie starring Anthony Hopkins about a Kiwi who hopes to beat a motorcycle land speed record. It was based on a true story, and was pretty good.
So there we go, Milford Sound was a great day out, but didn't nearly live up to the expectations I had of it. The next day would be slightly different.
Now, that's not to say I didn't enjoy my day out, far from it in fact. It was a great day out, and it started at a warm -4°C outside my hostel before the sun had come up. A coach of about 12 of us set out east around Lake Wakatipu and down to Te Anau, stopping along the way to see a bird which the driver helped to raise (apparently one of the oldest in the world of its species, which I can't remember the name of, but it was some sort of parrot). It was great finally arriving at Te Anau. I hadn't eaten breakfast, so it was a relief being able to buy crisps and chocolate to accompany my gourmet sandwich I'd made the night before.
We moved on, stopping at some "mirror lakes" - from all of the fog they weren't very impressive - before heading along black-iced roads through winding glacial valleys, which was exciting. And after a lovely scenic drive we arrive at Milford boat terminal. By chance, Sam and Cat from Rotorua were there as well, and they'd be travelling on the same cruise as me, so that was nice seeing familiar faces and catching up with them. It was a total surprise seeing them again, but at least now I had more than just the crazy Sith Ifricins to take photos of me!
So, we each got a boarding pass, and a "free muffin" pass, and boarded our vessel, the Milford Adventurer. It was cold out on deck, but not as bad as the morning frost had been, I suppose. Our boat pulled away from the dock, and at last we were able to all enjoy the tranquility of Milford Sound. Mitre Peak stood proudly in the cold waters of the Tasman Sea, plunging into the depths below, and we journeyed 16 km out, taking in the peace and tranquility of it all.
Just before we turned back, we came across a pod of dolphins jumping through the gentle waves towards the slowly setting sun. As we came closer, they started being more playful and came right up underneath the bow of the boat, swimming with us for a short way on our return trip. That was cool. All the way back the captain would stop at interesting points, or just for fun, such as underneath a waterfall (which apparently featured in the Wolverine movie), and a small collection of rocks with seals bobbing up and down on them.
At the end I bid farewell to Sam and Cat. They said they'd be at Pinewood the next night, so I expected to see them one last time, but never did unfortunately. And then I got on the bus to go back home.
It was too dark for meaningful commentary by that time, so we watched a movie, River Queen, to Te Anau, and after a brief stop there watched The World's Fastest Indian on the way to Queenstown, a movie starring Anthony Hopkins about a Kiwi who hopes to beat a motorcycle land speed record. It was based on a true story, and was pretty good.
So there we go, Milford Sound was a great day out, but didn't nearly live up to the expectations I had of it. The next day would be slightly different.
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