Milford Sound - Quite Incredible

With this blog post, I will set a personal record: I have uploaded a total of 30 pictures simply because I couldn't decide and commit. There isn't much to tell, the actual interesting part is the pictures and impressions.

No words needed.

Nevertheless, I will still report something:

At noon, the bus left Te Anau and headed north on the Milford Road. After half an hour, we reached the Fjordland National Park and the landscape changed to dense forests. As soon as the forests cleared, we had spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. They rose steeply on both sides as we drove through the Eglinton Valley.

After a few kilometers, the road led back into a forest area where the Mirror Lakes are located. Similar to Lake Matheson on the West Coast, you can observe amazing reflections of the mountains in the lake in perfect weather. I would claim that we had almost perfect weather, but the wind ruffled the surface of the lake, ruining any chance of a reflection. But I really don't want to complain about the weather: we had blue skies and sunshine the whole time! Even when we reached the actual fjord! We were so lucky because the average rainfall hardly allows hope for sun.

After the Mirror Lakes, we continued on the road towards the north for a while and the mountains slowly became rugged, with snow on the peaks and the road becoming steeper. We were all amazed and if I had been driving alone, I wouldn't have stopped taking photos.

Almost arriving at the sound, you have to pass through the Homer Tunnel. Dug almost by hand in the 1930s, it saved the rather difficult way over the mountain. On very busy days, the traffic can really thaw here, with waiting times of up to an hour. Perfect time to observe some keas. And the perfect place for keas to delight - or annoy - some people. Someone left their car unattended on the side, which the keas found highly interesting. One even climbed into the car itself and probably wanted to sit there for a test. Or rather empty the glove compartment, who knows.

After the tunnel, there is a very steep section with switchbacks down to the fjord. Unfortunately, it happens all too often that cars catch fire. Instead of using the gears to brake, some inexperienced drivers keep pressing the brake pedal, with catastrophic consequences. Overall, the Milford Road is the most accident-prone road in all of New Zealand. The main reason for this is the foreign drivers who arrive by plane in Queenstown, get into a car, and immediately drive to Milford. Most of them have no experience with left-hand traffic and the New Zealand road conditions, which are quite different from European or Asian ones, especially in areas like Fjordland. But our bus driver maneuvered us safely along the windy road, with a short stop at another waterfall (Chasm) until we reached the fjord.

A boat was already waiting for us there, which would take us on a 2-hour journey through Milford Sound.
I was already completely exhausted from the impressions of the Milford Road - how would I survive the fjord itself?
I was always a little skeptical when people raved about Milford, and inwardly I thought they were exaggerating.

They weren't.

Milford Sound is truly spectacular.

An eighth wonder of the world.

In addition, we had the best weather imaginable. For two hours, everything was simply perfect.

After the boat tour, we made our way back halfway, then turned onto a gravel road towards Gunns Camp, our stop for the night.

I couldn't miss the opportunity to go camping in Fjordland, so instead of cabins, I stayed in my cool tent.
Maybe not the best idea, I admit, but the experience was worth it.

In Fjordland, there is a disproportionately huge population of sandflies, and now I have no body part without some bites. These #&/@(= creatures get everywhere...
And it got cold at night... I checked: below 10°C. I wasn't used to that, so I was a bit cold. But that's just part of the ultimate Milford experience!

The next morning started with a 20-minute hike to a lookout over the mountains and Lake Merian. The tight schedule of Stray didn't allow for more time.

And then we had a nice way back to Te Anau on the Mumford Round. On our side of the road, we were on our own, but we played a game: how many buses would come towards us? Since it was Sunday, we only counted 52, the record is 80. For only 88km, that‘s still quite impressive...

After that, nothing really exciting happened, especially after yesterday. Nearly four hours drive, and we reached Invercargill.

Called the 'asshole of the world' (I quote the Rolling Stones!), Invercargill has nothing to offer, nor is it really touristy, which suits me just fine. Besides, after endless weeks in hostels, I can finally host a couchsurfer again, and I desperately need it.

I need a washing machine, a decent supermarket, and most importantly, WiFi and time to organize some things. 'Life admin,' as our bus driver said.
But that probably also means that I won't upload a blog post every day. But I think after this huge one, we all deserve a little break...