Milford Sound

We arrive in Te Anau hoping to be able to go on a cruise to the glow worm caves but unfortunatley they are all booked up! Needless to say this results in two very bad tempered children. The intention had been to stay here the night and drive out to Milford Sound early tomorrow morning to catch the fiord cruise but, as we are now at a loose end, we decide to drive out there today and camp there instead. So after a quick lunch, the children bid farewell to the huge takehe bird and we're off.

Fiordland is one of the most dramatic and beautiful parts of New Zealand. It is renowned as its sightseeing and walking capital. The drive from Te Anau to milford sound is about 2 hours long but it is through the most stunning scenery that it seems to take no time at all (for the grown-ups that is!!!). Human activity has been limited in Fiordland. European settlement was hampered in this area by the steepness of the terrain, isolation and the wettest climate in New Zealand. Early Māori people hunted birds here and caught fish from the sea and gathered pounamu (New Zealand jade) from the rivers. Later, sealers and whalers took shelter in the fiords and built small settlements in a number of locations.

We arrive at our next camp site and pitch tent on a gravel (yes really!) pitch. and have a qick drive out to see the famous Milford Sound before tea. Camping here is a very social activity - cooking tea takes place in a very well appointed (if small) kitchen along with visitors from Germany, Sweden, America and Ireland. The pitch was surprisingly comfortable but unfortuantely Milford Sound appears to have a very high sandfly population and we are all covered in festering bites by the next morning. We head of back to Milford Sound to start our boat trip.

Milford is by far the best known of all of the fiords and the only one that can be accessed by road. It is approximately 16km from the head of the fiord to the open sea. In Maori legend, the fiords were created not by rivers of ice, but by Tu Te Raki Whanoa, a godly figure who came wielding a magical adze and uttering incantations. When is was originally discovered by English sailors, it was named Milford Haven, after the Captains home town.

Camp Ford

Yes - it really is a dolphin!!!!!!!!!!!

The boat took us right under this waterfall and it was b****Y cold! but a fantastic experience. Good job they provided free tea and coffee though - my hands were blue!

Mitre Peak, shown in this picture, is so named because of it's similarity to the bishops headgear of the same name. Is is, supposedly, the most photographed mountain in New Zealand. I can see why!!!!

The trip lasted 2 hours and for me it has been the most awe inspiring of our New Zealand trips to date - to say the scenery is stunning here does simply not do it justice. Fantastic!!!