Fiordland National Park

January 19th was the day of our tour of Fiordland, the largest national park in New Zealand, and Milford Sound, the beautiful remote valley and popular tourist attraction within it. Fiordland is the wettest part of the country, as we had experienced the day before. The morning of today was slightly drier, although there was still a light drizzle. But it was really cold, 7°C according to the car thermometer. I was glad I had bought long pants!

We left the campground at 8 o'clock and took in some beautiful lookouts along the way. Miraculously, the weather became better the closer we got to our destination, and when we arrived at Milford Sound, it was sunny. Absolutely beautiful!

Our boat tour started at quarter past 9, and we were really excited. The weather was fantastic, and we could admire the surrounding mountains in all their glory. We even saw the top of Mitre Peak, the highest and most famous mountain in Milford Sound, which is 1692 meters high. According to our guide, today was the first sunny day in 9 days. Such luck! Due to the heavy rain the day before, there were many waterfalls on the mountainsides, which made everything even more exciting. We didn't know where to look first because everything looked so beautiful. Right at the beginning of our cruise, we saw the biggest waterfall in the sound, which supplies drinking water and generates electricity. What a sight! Then we soon came to another, much smaller waterfall, and our ship got very close, even going underneath it, so we could catch some water in a few glasses. According to our guide, this water should be extremely pure as it comes directly from the rain and is filtered by the 30cm thick layer of moss on the steep rock faces. The water actually had a noticeable taste of algae.

During the rest of the boat trip, we came to a rock where seals were sunning themselves, and because we hadn't had enough luck that day, we even saw dolphins, which kept appearing in the water. Seals and dolphins in the same photo! Amazing! Too soon, we reached the end of the valley and sailed a little way out into the Tasman Sea. This can only be done in calm weather, as the waves on the open sea are too high otherwise. We even noticed a significant difference from the calmer waters in the sound. It's quite incredible to think that you can go straight to Tasmania if you just keep going across the sea.

On the way back, we had a great view of the other side of the valley. Everything looks somehow different from there. Since we were now driving closer to the other side of the gorge, we also saw seals on a rock there, and the dolphins were still there too. This time, they even jumped out of the water and played!

After that, we went to a waterfall, and we got so close that we were practically underneath it. The only difference was that this one was much bigger than the last one, and everyone on the deck got completely wet. Thankfully, they offered us thick rain jackets before this spectacle, so only the jackets got wet. And it was warm enough for such an experience. When else do you get the chance to go under a waterfall on a boat?

After the waterfall adventure, we picked up our lunch bags and treated ourselves to some food. Thank goodness we didn't pay an extra $20 for it, it wouldn't have been worth it! A soggy sandwich, a small bag of chips, a cracker and cheese pack, two cookies, a small juice box, an apple, and a kiwi. At least it was varied :D

Shortly after lunch, we arrived at the Milford Deep Discovery Centre, a floating house on the edge of the sea at the edge of the valley. There was a lot of information about the history of the sound, its discovery, and the plant species in the water. The special thing is that black coral grows there. This kind of coral is usually only found in deep waters in the open sea, but because the water in Milford Sound is also very deep, the coral feels at home there. In the Discovery Centre, they have submerged a cylinder in the water that can descend up to 10 meters below the surface and then through glass windows, you can see some marine animals, plants, and of course, the black coral. By the way, the coral is not actually black and looks more like a normal green underwater plant. Somewhat disappointing. But at least we got to see it and we found the information panels above very interesting. For example, there were also pictures of how the road to Milford Sound was built. Milford Sound is the only sound in Fiordland that can be reached by road, and its tourism potential was recognized early on. By the way, Milford Sound is not actually a sound in the true sense, but a fjord. A sound is formed by a river, and a fjord is formed by a glacier. But no one takes that distinction too seriously, and the national park is called Fiordland because of the fjords.

After three-quarters of an hour in the Milford Deep, we returned to the beginning of the valley on a larger ship. About 95% of the clientele were Asian. There are many Asians everywhere. We were back on land at 1 o'clock, and it was time to return to the car. The parking lot was now full of quite a few tour buses where none had been before. Also, the weather was becoming slightly worse again. Good thing we did our cruise in the morning!

On the way back to Te Anau, we stopped at a few beautiful spots again, this time it wasn't raining. For example, we took a short walk to a small but very deep gorge, where we even saw several keas in the parking lot. Keas are a species of parrot and one of the most famous birds in New Zealand. We also drove to the Mirror Lakes again, although this time there were no reflections to be seen. A gentle wind ruffled the water's surface too much. In Te Anau, we refueled, and in Queenstown, we bought a few postcards. We had dinner by a lake near Cromwell, where we could enjoy our omelette with a great view. After dinner, we continued a little further, and at 10 o'clock in the evening, we finally arrived at our free campground. After nearly 500 km and 9 hours of driving with breaks. What an afternoon! But despite the long time in the car, the day was a complete success, and we are very happy to have experienced such a great boat trip in Milford Sound :)