Milford Sound

Having stayed in another beautiful campsite just outside Wanaka, we arose early and headed for Queenstown to stay with E-J's friend Emily, for one night before heading down to Milford Sound. On the way there we briefly stopped at Wanaka and took in the sweet little town and it's sights. E-J also took great delight it fooling around with a sculpture by the side of the lake.

When we reached Queenstown it was lovely for E-J to see her old friend Emily and after catching up over a good meal, E-J was already looking forward to coming back to spend some more time with her.

The 295 kilometre drive down to Milford Sound had breathtaking sights all the way there. Much to E-J's pleasure Sam did most of the driving so she was able to sit back and take in the incredible scenery. As we began our journey, the skies began to turn a miserable grey and by the time we reached Milford Sound the place was covered in a deep, low mist with torrential rain splashing down everywhere. This was surely the only reason why it was named after Milford Haven in Wales?

Rather than being disappointed by this, it added a greater depth to the place. Surrounded by tall, threatening mountains and steep gorges, everything look very haunting and eerie as they gloomily appeared from behind the low cloud and mist. The rain also caused an abundance of tiny waterfalls to cascade down the mountains, creating a constant sound of splashing water. This was the first time that we both felt totally awe struck by the magnificence of the place. It was very easy to see why Peter Jackson chose to do most of the filming of Lord of the Rings down here; it felt like another planet.

The town of Milford Sound consisted of one cafe, which was attached to one pub, a few buildings which housed staff, a petrol station and a fire station. Having spent all of 5 minutes understanding the lay out of the place, we looked into the best way of seeing this world heritage site. Deciding to avoid the huge tourist crowns aboard all the cruises, we booked a kayak tour for the following day and then made our way to the only lodgings / campsite area there. The place was of course booked up. Luckily, one staff member took pity on us (due to E-J providing him details of our unfortunate time in Wellington!) and found us literally, a hole in the hedge where we could park up and stay for the night.

The rain poured heavily all that night and E-J began to worry just how soaked she was going to be kayaking the next day! When we woke up the next morning, the skies were still a moody grey but the rain had stopped. There were only eight people kayaking in our group, which made it perfect, as it meant we had the place all to ourselves. E-J particularly felt this when Sam insisted on going on ahead of everyone!

From the kayaks, the views were spectacular and we felt so helpless and small as we looked up to the most enormous mountains right above us, which are apparently three times as tall as the Empire State building.

The kayaking was a good four hours and by the end of it we were all pretty tried and wet from the waves. E-J was relieved to have seen some seals on the rocks as the guides had told her that two weeks ago a great white had been spotted in these waters and all other sea life had disappeared. The thought of coming across a fifteen foot shark was something E-J desperately didn't want to experience.

After a quick lunch break we got back in the kayak for a second tour. This involved a walk along some of the famous Milford Sound hiking track. The kayak crossing was suppose to be simple, but by now the winds had picked up and it was almost impossible to get out into the water.

People call kayaks the divorce boats and after several angry words about each other's paddling and near miss of some rocks and trees in the lake, we could see why! Fortunately E-J managed to calm down and remember how to paddle!

The walk itself was beautiful. The place is so full of rich, lush trees and vegetation. Our guide was incredibly informative, explaining a lot about the different plant species and wildlife that can be found there. He also showed us various plants and shrubbery that you can eat.

After the forty minute walk we returned back to the main base of Milford Sound and were taken to the bottom of a most impressive waterfall. It was so powerful and incredible to be so close to it.

By now it was 8pm and we were on our knees from all the exertion of the day. We decided to end it with a delicious steak in the only pub in town! By now the skies had totally cleared up and we were able to experience a beautiful sunset among all these incredible mountains.

Sam's comments: I can understand why Rudyard Kipling called this place the eighth Wonder of the World, amazing, best experiance of New Zealand. Altough E-J's tantrum in the Kayar nearly spoilt it!!

E-J's comments: This place is simply breathtaking. Photos can't do it justice. These mountains are just so enormous and as you stand at the foot of them, they literally go vertically up into the sky! It feels almost magical, a place I would highly recommend!