Milford Sound, New Zealand

The wind woke me at about 4am - it was really blowing, so I had the feeling that the weather had changed once again, according to NZ custom. I went back to sleep and the tour company picked me up at 10 am. It was indeed overcast somewhat gloomy, though not cold. Our group was small today, because it was a nature cruise. We were only about 26. We had a fabulous coach with angled seats and roof windows…and a terrific guide. In fact, I have been pleased with Real Journeys from start to finish.

We drove north along Lake Te Anau, the second largest lake in NZ - another beautiful drive despite the weather. As noted before this is the wettest part of he country with rainfalls of up to 10 meters a year. That’s more than 30 ft., guys!! We followed the lupin-lined Eglinton River for some time, through stands of tea trees or manukas and red, silver and black beech. As we climbed higher into the mountains, it started to rain. By the time we reached the Homer Tunnel at 2000 m., the mountains were shrouded in mist. Very beautiful, nevertheless. We made quite a few photo-op stops, one at a group of lakes and others at the sites of tree avalanching due to rain or seismic activity. The beeches are very shallow-rooted trees; they intertwine their roots in the shallow topsoil of moss and humus. When severe rains or earthquakes dislodge just one tree, it takes a whole host down with it, scouring the mountain and blocking roads. The road we were on was closed twice in the past few years, once for 4 days and again for 6 days. There are also many ferns here; there are 200 varieties of ferns of which the silver fern is one of the symbols of NZ. These forests are considered benign for humans, though there are some toxic plants. There are, however, no toxic animals except for the katapo, a poisonous spider – but one is not likely to encounter them. In fact, the biggest threat to man in this marine-dominated weather system is hypothermia.

Homer Tunnel is one way in the spring and summer and so we had to wait for the traffic lights. The area was almost completely shrouded in mist and there was snow on the ground. There was a terrific surprise awaiting us – two lively keas. The kea is a NZ parrot, dark green with a flash of red. They are very gregarious birds. We could walk right up to them. They seemed to enjoy sitting on top of the buses or cars. The two of them were on a car when it drove off…they were quite unperturbed but flew back towards us after a little way. Delightful!

After exiting the tunnel, we descended to Milford Sound following the Hollyford River, which was running very high. Temporary waterfalls abounded and added drama to the grey day. We boarded a three-masted motor-sailer, which the company uses for overnights on the sound – it has 15 cabins. Very nice. We picked up our picnic lunches and left the dock. Milford Sound is very much the same as Doubtful Sound, but there are many more excursion boats and cruise ships call in. The Noordam came into the sound as we were returning. The flora and fauna are the same. We saw more seals and crested penguins, which was exciting. What was striking here was the number of permanent waterfalls of all types. There were also lots of temporary falls, but the permanent ones were very dramatic, falling from different heights in different ways. It was interesting, too, to see one Sound under blue skies and the other shrouded in mists. I met a couple from, of all places, Wrentham, Mass. Very good companions on the excursion. After a four-hour drive back to Queenstown, via Te Anau, I found my hotel on the waterfront, had a quick dinner at 9 pm in my room, wrote this and now I am ready for bed. But I will post first, since I can sleep in tomorrow.