Friday, October 25, 2013
Today is our trip to Milford Sound. The southern end of New
Zealand is full of fjords. They were named sounds but they are truly fjords
carved out by glaciers long ago. On our cruise to New Zealand a few years ago,
we cruised through the area and into Milford Sound. I remember it being as
magnificent as the fjords in Norway.
The forecast doesn’t sound like it will improve and we start
out in rain. We have opted to take a tour bus for the two hour ride to the
Sound. The roads can get nasty if the weather turns cold at those altitudes and
if it does, chains are required for driving—that’s if the road stays open.
Rather than take a chance on booking the scenic cruise through Milford and not
being able to get there because of bad roads, the tour bus was a better deal.
If they canceled for weather, we’d get the refund.
The bus comes from Queenstown, another two hours north of
us. When we board, we have a difficult time finding seats together until the
driver asks some passengers to double up instead of sitting singly. The
commentary from the driver is in English but there is a guide who is
translating in Chinese for the large tour group that is aboard. We meet a nice
couple from Indiana who sit behind us and swap football news.
Clouds and rain shroud much of the scenery along the way.
There are several stops with five minute walks for picture taking that turn
into ten or fifteen minute stops as it takes that long to get people back on
the bus even in the rain. The stop we enjoy the most is one in an area where there
are Keas. As we pull in there is a Kea walking around the parking lot oblivious
to the buses and people milling about until the crowd closes in on him with
their cameras. He hops on top a car, takes a couple of pecks at the rubber
around the door frame and then walks back and forth as if to say, “Okay, here I
am. Take your pictures and if you want to toss me a treat, okay.”
The advantage to the rain is that there are hundreds of
waterfalls along the way to see—waterfalls that fall from so far up the
mountains that you can’t tell where they begin. Soon we are right below the
snowline of the mountain tops. After we pass through a long tunnel, we begin
our descent to the sound and the dock for the scenic cruise boats.
We arrive five minutes before the boat is ready to take off
and hustle down to the one that is doing the nature tour. Actually the scenic
and the nature tour boats take the same route minutes apart from each other.
We’re not quite sure what the difference is unless it’s the commentary. Even
before the boat is on its way, we have our box lunches and hot soup before us
and enjoy every bite.
Heading toward the Tasman Sea is a bit wild as we are going
directly into the wind. Each time I go out to take a picture, I have to
position the camera so the rain doesn’t get the lens wet. It’s not raining so
hard now but the wind is blowing so strong that we surmise the “rain” is
actually the mist from so many waterfalls that have sprung up with all the
precipitation. 
The boat takes us to the first permanent waterfall, the
Fairy Waterfall. It is huge throwing tons of water over the cliff and into the
Sound. The captain tells his passengers that those who are brave and not afraid
to get wet should stand on the bow of the boat. Slowly he noses the tip into
the waterfall and eventually the half dozen people who braved the wind are
scattered as the water hits the deck around them. Our nature commentator tells
us that the Fairy Waterfall is so named because the Maori claimed that if you
went under the falls, you could see fairies dancing there. The waterfall is
lacy and reminds me of layers of tulle on a wedding dress.
The sun shines occasionally here and there as we make our
way out to the Tasman. At the entrance to the Sound from the Tasman is a small
island that is sacred to the Maori. It is prohibited to take any of the orange
colored boulders from there. The boulders when cracked open contain the
greenstone or jade that southwest New Zealand is famous for.
Waves bounce the boat as we turn around to head up the other
side of Milford Sound. There is no lack of waterfalls today. We stop near some rocks
to see a seal or two resting. And then nearing the end of the cruise, our
nature guide spots some penguins. The boat slowly edges near them as passengers
vie for position at the bow to take pictures. Luckily I happened to be near
there when the announcement is made and get a couple of good shots.
One last large waterfall and a dousing for the brave who
stand at the bow again and we are back at the dock area. There is a very nice
ticketing building there with restrooms, a waiting area, and a gift shop. There
may have been a café but we are in a hurry to get back to the bus and don’t
explore. The majority of our bus passengers took the scenic boat trip and were
due back before us. The bus driver asked that we not keep them waiting too
long.
It is another long ride back to Te Anau. The little respite
we got from the weather while on the boat doesn’t last and the rest of our bus
trip is rainy and chilly. Still it is amazing to look up and see the towering
peaks of snow covered mountains above us as we climb up to them and then go
back down. I am so glad Bob hasn’t had to drive.
We arrive in Te Anau about five-thirty and get off the bus
thankful that we don’t have another two hours to ride as most of the others do
who are going on to Queenstown. On the way back to the Shakespeare House, we
take a moment to check out a place for dinner. We decide on a place called The
Ranch which is a lot like a pub but has table service. They serve several
different kinds of roast: lamb, beef, pork. The lamb roast comes with some
roasted potatoes, cheesy cauliflower, a piece of roasted pumpkin and peas. A
hearty and delicious meal at a great price of $20 NZD. We can’t believe our
good fortune. Now if only the weather would get better.
