One of the things that Russ really wanted to do was to see Milford Sound and today we finally made it. We ended up taking a bus from Queenstown which meant quite a long day as it is about a 4.5 hour bus ride each way (and longer if you add in the stops). However, it was worth it as we got to sit back and relax and also the bus driver was able to tell us all about the surrounding area and I found that very interesting.
We left Queenstown and travelled to Te Anau and from there we made our way along Fiordland National Park and up into Milford Sound. Along the way we stopped at several places. One of these was Mirror Lakes were you can see a perfect reflection of the surrounding mountains in the shallow, still lakes. On t
he drive you also travel through the Homer Tunnel which is quite long and was dug entirely with picks and shovels starting in 1935 and opened to allow traffic through in 1954. I am not quite sure how driving through the tunnel works as there were no stop lights and if a bus is in there is really not much room to get back. The drive through took a few minutes and I imagine that sometimes another vehicle must have to back up. Apparently rental vans often get a little too close to the side and do some damage to the roof – this is known as “tunnel bite”. Just after Homer Tunnel we stopped and walked in to the Chasm, where you can see waterfalls and shaped rocks and potholes, formed by the running water in the Cleddau River.
he drive you also travel through the Homer Tunnel which is quite long and was dug entirely with picks and shovels starting in 1935 and opened to allow traffic through in 1954. I am not quite sure how driving through the tunnel works as there were no stop lights and if a bus is in there is really not much room to get back. The drive through took a few minutes and I imagine that sometimes another vehicle must have to back up. Apparently rental vans often get a little too close to the side and do some damage to the roof – this is known as “tunnel bite”. Just after Homer Tunnel we stopped and walked in to the Chasm, where you can see waterfalls and shaped rocks and potholes, formed by the running water in the Cleddau River.In Milford Sound we
took a boat and travelled through the sound and out to the Tasman Sea. We had pretty nice weather with some clear skies and some light rain. We were told that it rains up to 7 or more metres a year in Milford Sound so rain is pretty common! The good thing about having the rain is that the waterfalls are quite impressive when it rains. We also saw at least 5 rainbows that afternoon alone. Sometimes I think that New Zealand should be called land of the rainbow instead of land of the long white cloud as I have seen more rainbows in the last 6 months then I have in the last 6 years at home.
took a boat and travelled through the sound and out to the Tasman Sea. We had pretty nice weather with some clear skies and some light rain. We were told that it rains up to 7 or more metres a year in Milford Sound so rain is pretty common! The good thing about having the rain is that the waterfalls are quite impressive when it rains. We also saw at least 5 rainbows that afternoon alone. Sometimes I think that New Zealand should be called land of the rainbow instead of land of the long white cloud as I have seen more rainbows in the last 6 months then I have in the last 6 years at home.Bree made friends with a young girl named Claire on the bus trip and they had fun running around the deck during the trip. Claire and her family were visiting from Singapore and it was nice to chat with them. The drive back home was long and everyone on the bus had a little sleep except for Bree who managed to stay awake and play the entire trip home. We were back in Queenstown by 7pm and ready for a quiet evening in. Milford Sound was definitely worth the trip. It is hard to do it justice in writing and even our pictures won’t really show how magnificent it is.
So you did the long bus trip from Queenstown and back. We thought that was really too long and did it by own transport from Te Anau. But anyhow I agree with Russ that you definitely have to be there. It is really a magnificent place.
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