Milford Sound

I travelled down the famous Milford Road towards Milford Sound to take an overnight cruise. There were lots of curves in the road, but it was definitely worth it because the scenery was astounding. We were in the middle of the Murchison Mountain Range and crystal clear rivers were everywhere! We stopped at a popular tourist attraction called Mirror Lakes. The lakes were so calm that you could see the reflection of the mountains in them.

We also passed through a tunnel in the mountain called Homer's Tunnel. Instead of building a road around the mountains, pioneers decided to build the road through the mountain. Before it was built, the Post Man had to scale up and over the rock face to deliver the mail to the development of Milford Sound and other areas. The other side of the mountain they named The Post Man's Drop and it is definitely steep.I'm glad I didn't deliver mail in New Zealand at that time.

Once aboard the Milford Wanderer, the cruise ship, we sailed through a little inlet named after the town. We sailed up past Stirling Falls, a trickling waterfall that seemed to start at the very top of the mountain. Across the inlet we got to view Mitre Peak. This peak is 1682 m high and is believed to be one of the world's highest to rise directly out of the ocean. We eventually made it to Anita's Bay where we unloaded people to go kayaking. I went on a guided tour of the area on a smaller boat and learned some interesting things about the geology of the area. The area has lots of Jade and hasn't been mined because of the poor location. So if I was lucky enough to go on a kayak and onto land I could have picked up some Jade.

We sailed back to Harrison's Cove, where we had a delicious roast beef dinner and stayed the night. It was the best sleep I have had since being in New Zealand.

The next morning we cruised around Dale Point where we spotted some fur seals lazing about and then some bottlenosed dolphins frolicking beside our ship. Before we headed back to the boat harbour, we gazed at the 160 m Bowen Falls. And before we knew it, it was over. It was very relaxing and one of the best things I've done since being in New Zealand.