Milford Sound, the most beautiful place in NZ

After a morning latte we made our way on the KIWI bus through the thick snows of the Fiordland towards Milford Sound. The weather was not looking good for our trip on the water.

HISTORY:
Milford Sound is not really a sound but rather was carved out by a glacier and when the glacier melted, the Tasman rose up and filled the space carved out. Beneath the water, the mountains continue to plunge down as steep rock walls until they reach the floor of the fiord at depths of 100-450m. A fresh water layer that sits on top of the seawater filters light to allow normally deep water dwelling species to exist very close to the surface (ex. black coral). We were able to see this phenomenon in the 10m Underwater Obeservatory. Interesting huh?

We drove through Homer Tunnel (1.2km) carved into the mountain by victims of the 1930 depression. "The weather could be vicious, the terrain ferocious, high in altitude, steep and rugged, beset by floods and deadly avalanches. Workers were brought face to face with the avalanche hazard." We even saw some avalanches high up the mountain as we were driving down the winding road to the tunnel!!

The 2 hour boat cruise was fabulous because the weather cleared right up and the sky was blue. The trip was so humbling because it showed us just how small we are in comparison to nature. There were huge jagged rocks rising thousands of feet upward with calm waters below. There were beautiful waterfalls with rainbows peeking out from the falling waters, avalanches in the snowcapped areas above us, a fur seal devouring a fish, and a pod of 20 dolphins swimming alongside our boat. I don't think we could have been more lucky.