Milford Sound

Soaring
Piopiotahi Fjord

All around you are soaring peaks of pure rugged bedrock carved meticulously by eons of glacial gouging. Then coating these near vertical slopes of rock is a solid layer of jungle vegetation struggling to keep hold of the rock below. It is one of the most extreme and wonderfully enchanting chunks of scenery one can behold in New Zealand. It is hard not to stand in awe of Milford Sound... and take way too many pictures [LEFT: Me in front of a waterfall in the sound].

Mike, Libor (a hitchhiker from the Czech Republic and now friend), and I took the winding scenic drive down to Milford Sound together. For the duration of the trip the mountains slowly increase in the severity of their slope until they reach near vertical cliffs of exposed rock. Then the road passes through a tunnel through the mountains and when you emerge on the other side the cliffs have become remarkably covered in lush vegetation.

It is amazing that the trees and bushes can grow so densely on such steep bedrock with hardly any soil to speak of. This feat of nature is enable by the absurd amount of rain the region gets. The sound receives on average nearly 7 meters of rain a year. The constant drenching supplies the plants with the water they need to live such that they don't need soil to hold water reserves for them.

The epic amounts of rain also cause the ultimate downfall of the vegetation though in combination with gravity. The vegetation mat just continues to grow and grow until it reaches a point where it is so massive that a heavy rain increases its weight beyond what the intertwined roots and tenuous gripping on the rock surface can support. Then whole swaths of vegetation avalanche down into the sound.

Our first full day in the sound we spent hiking around to various points of interest in the region. We attempted to hike Gertrude Saddle, but were blocked by an icy snow field. We checked out the torchered sculpting of the rock in The Chasm, done by year of work of a twisting creek. Then we just walked the boardwalk along the shore of the sound and took in the perfect view while battling the persistent sand flies [ABOVE: Miter Peak from the boardwalk].

In the evening I indulged in a boat cruise out the length of the fjord [BOTTOM: A waterfall from the cruise]. It was amazing and with the sheer rock faces plunging directly into the fjord without even and inch of beach, it was the only way to really see the extent of this amazing sculpture. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and took far to many pictures while sipping tea and chatting with fellow cruisers.

The next morning Mike and I took part in a easy going kayak trip out into the sound [ABOVE: Looking off the bow of the kayak; a picture of Mike and I kayaking; later photo by our guide]. While under our own power we did not make it near as far out into the fjord, the kayak trip was a far more peaceful and close up encounter. We got to glide out over the smooth water right alongside the soaring rock faces and really appreciate the magnitude of their size. The cliffs surge up 1200 meters on either side of the fjord. We also happened across some lazy sea lions and got to watch them laze around just like dogs always do. They are very similar creatures in terms of demeanor and personality.

After the kayak trip we packed up and headed back to Queenstown leaving the glorious spectacle of Milford Sound in our rear view mirror. It is the most amazing region in terms of sheer spectacular scenery that I have seen this trip, and despite its tourist magnetism (4 to 6 thousand of them a day in the summer I was told) it is well worth a visit.

As always,
-Russ

[Pictures from MILFORD SOUND]