This morning we were up early as we were going to do a
Milford Sound cruise. It was only 110
kms to Milford Sound from where we are staying however it was a 2.5 hour
drive. The main reason being that the
road is so narrow and winding.
We stopped at a view point and took a couple of pictures and
had a laugh at a sign which said “Do Not Feed The Kea”. A few kms further on we stopped at a view
point and I hopped out to take a picture and this great big parrot flew down
and harassed me. I called out that a Kea
was there and nobody believed me but they did get out and we had fun playing
with the bird. Amy chased it around and
around but it never did fly away.
It rains 200 days a year in Milford Sound and they get 9
meters of rain per year. So we were
dressed in our best rain gear and had sandwiches made for the trip. I had my long finger gloves and winter
clothes on. The road lived up to its
reputation and the road is very winding with a 1.3 kms tunnel at the 70 kms mark
which is something like 10% grade inside the tunnel.
Once at Milford Sound we boarded our tour boat for the
cruise. It wasn’t raining and the sun
was even trying to put in an appearance.
Milford Sound is a World Heritage site and for good reason. It is
absolutely stunning. The mountains rise
straight up thousands of feet from the sea.
There are water falls cascading into the ocean from the cliffs hundreds
of feet up.
In this one place you can see where one of the thousands of
faults which crisscross New Zealand runs right through one of the mountians.
It is hard to imagine the Maori climbing down the cliffs
into the fiords to collect the jade which they used for jewelry, tools and
weapons.
Totally discharged the battery on my camera. I took 137 pictures.
On the way back Jos let Agnes drive. I think she had fun wrestling the van around
the corners. We came up to where there
was a big sheep herd being driven down the road. There were hundreds of sheep and they were
all being herded along by the dogs who were busy keeping the flock
together. Another New Zealand box
checked.
What a great day!
Terry
6 comments:
You were very fortunate not to get rained on at Milford Sound. If it is raining you get to see hundreds of waterfalls. If it is not, you get to see the beauty of the area and Mitre Peak and exhaust your camera battery taking pictures. Have a great day riding to Queenstown tomorrow, it is a great ride!
Perhaps a few "sheep jams" in the coming weeks.
Calgary Ken C.
Spectacular pictures. You all look like you are dressed for Canadian weather.
See next stop is Queens Town..ourt all time favorite place. It reminds us of Tahoe. Enjoy the hang gliders and bungee jumpers.
Beautiful!! Can't tell you how much we are enjoying your travel journal! J&E
Beautiful photos... Brings back memories witnessing this great beauty.. Oh - to be touring on a bike!
Those pictures are great! Keep up the good work, Terry!
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