Day 76 Milford Sound Boat Cruise

Today we are scheduled to take a cruise of Milford Sound which leaves at 11:30AM.  We decided to leave the camper at the resort and walk down to the loading docks.  The walk was quite nice and since we were not in a hurry I was able to stop and take a few pictures.

Mitre Peak



We had a few minutes before the boat boarded so we stopped for a coffee where we met a young couple visiting from Calgary.  Brook is a Kiwi and Heather is a Canuck who are here visiting Brook's family and doing a little touring as well.  They were a fun couple and we enjoyed spending the day with them.  We plan to get in touch with them the next time we are heading north.

Brook and Heather

We were going aboard a boat named "Lady of the Sounds'.



Lady of the Sounds

The cruise was about to start and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.  There was hardly a cloud in the sky which allowed us to see all the surrounding mountains and peaks.  The cruise was narrated and as a result we learned a few things we did not know.

-There are only 80 days without rain or snow in Milford Sound.

-Milford Sound is incorrectly named.  It is actually a fiord.

-Rudyard Kipling called it “The 8^th Wonder of the World”

-Milford Sound (Fiord) is 15 kilometers long.

-It is a finalist in “The New Seven Wonders of the World”

The trip today took us through the Sound until we reached the Tasman Sea. We passed Mount Kimberly, aka the Lion along with numerous waterfalls.  We entered the narrowest part of the sound as we passed Hurricane Corner. It is called this as winds can, on occasion, reach 120 knots. We passed St. Anne's Point and were treated to a little longer trip as we ventured out into the Tasman Sea.  Normally the weather is not condusive to taking the cruise boats out that far.  We turned around and headed back with a stop at “ Milford Deep”, which is an underwater observatory, before returning to the dock. 

The weather was good, the company was great and the scenery was absolutely phenomenal.  You have to imagine tilting your head back and looking straight up at the cliffs that rise perfectly horizontal for over 1000 meters.  Waterfalls that are over 500 meters falling straight down with snow covered mountains in the background.  There is no way the camera, at least my camera, could capture what we were witnessing today.  It was truly sensational.

The Falls





The Animals

The Views

The Lion  aka  Mount Kimberly

Elephant Peak



Hurricane Corner
















Tasman Sea



View from Tasman Sea, almost invisible













Entering into Milford Sound from Tasman Sea

Heading back in




St. Anne Point

 



 





Cascade Peak

 


Narrowest Point of Sound

 

The one stop we did make was pretty interesting. Milford Deep, an underwater observatory is 10 meters below the surface and is strictly for observation.  They are not allowed to interfere with the natural habitat in any way, shape or form.

Milford Deep Underwater Observatory

Once under the water the beauty of Fiordland continues below the sea. Milford Sound contains unique and beautiful marine life, and this is the perfect way to get up close and observe it.  The reason it is so unique is Fiordland gets so much rain.  The tannins from the forest color the layer of fresh water that is laying on top of the sea water.  This combined with the narrow shape of the fiord causes a phenomenon known as deep water emergence where light is not allowed to penetrate past the fresh water.  This creates a similar environment to the deep ocean at a much shallower depth, basically fooling the aquatic life.



Black Coral



It wasn’t very long after leaving the Observatory that we were back at the docks and the end of our cruise. We said goodbye to Brook and Heather and after stopping for ice cream we walked back to the camp. 

We hunkered down inside the camper for the rest of the afternoon and evening mainly to avoid the sand flies.  They are pesky little buggers that are members of the black fly family.  When they bite you, when the female bites you, she leaves a saliva that gets very itchy.  Extremely itchy, scratch till you bleed itchy.  The trick is not to scratch.

In spite of the sand flies it was one heck of a day.  A perfect day weather wise and a unbelievable  spectrum of mountains, waterfalls and marine life.  It’s good to be alive, it’s even better to be alive and retired.