We started off at 6.30am, and had a nice smooth getaway from Queenstown. It's a U-shaped journey to and fro, and the minute we were out of Queenstown, we hardly had to deal with traffic, so we zipped along at a nice rate. The roads were mostly long and straight until we reached Te Anau about 2 hours later and stopped at the first cafe in sight for breakfast. Looks like pretty much everyone en route to Milford Sound stops there, including tour buses. We got some nice sandwiches and pastries for our breakfast, to load us up for the long journey through Milford Road. We also packed in some snacks to have on-board the cruise.
A few kilometers into Milford Road, I had a new favorite drive in NZ! Almost every turn led to a dramatic change in landscape that was worth a picture of two, with changes in flora making the jaw drop at times.Through wooded rainforests to grasslands to red cossacks to foggy mountains dotted the landscape. The steady drizzle made the fog ever present and it appeared we were driving through a magical place. At times it appeared as if we could reach out and touch the fog!
There were numerous places to stop over and explore along the way. Mirror lakes perfectly reflected the mountains in the crystal clear waters, except for the odd wave caused by a Kea swimming lazily across. Falls creek offered us a beautiful view of a falls. There were sweet smelling lavenders of varied colours by the roadside. There was an astounding view of a lake. But the most magical was when we were waiting to cross a 1.2km tunnel, where the whole place was shrouded in thick mist that we could hardly see the vehicle ahead. At that place, we were treated to snow capped mountain tops and numerous small water falls that was truly a sight to behold!
I thought i had quite a bit of time jn hand, but towards the end we were rushing for time. We reached the car park only 5 nins before scheduled check in time for ghe cruise, only to find it full! It was a mad scramble to find a parking spot and rush to the cruise. In all, it took us 6.5 hours to get to Milford Sound.
Having reached the cruise just in time, we debated on the best place to be won the cruise. As usual, my ladies won the debate and we chose a cosy seat inside the cabin and bought some stuff to eat. In hindsight, it was a very wise choice, as it was freezing out in the open on the deck during the journey!
As the cruise gathered momentum, we took turns to venture out in the deck and admire the natural beauty of the fjords. The two permanent waterfalls and foggy mountains provided a picturesque backdrop for numerous clicks.
The captain provided very insightful commentary throughout the trip. It was a bit of an anticlimax to hear that Milford Sound is not really a "Sound" but a "Fjord" and like with 13 other sounds nearby, it has been wrongly named! It was amazing that so many trees managed to grow out of sheer cliffs with no soil, and that all their roots are interconnected, clinging on to rock crevices, taking moisture from the abundant 7-10m rain each year. It left me in awe that life always finds a way to survive even in such tough conditions. With no soil to hold the rain water, it freely falls off the mountain side and forms a layer of fresh water on top of the salty water rushing inland from the Tasman Sea, gathering pace as it reaches the narrow opening among the fjords. The place where it opens up to the Tasman Sea is so rough that the cruise started to bob violently with water splashing onto our faces! The captain had to quickly turn the boat around at that point, but the Tasman Sea indeed made its point as one of the choppiest waters on the planet. We could just about get a glimpse of the Antartic Ocean to the south at that point. The return leg was more relaxed and slowly cruised through various key facets of the fjords, including places where recent tree avalanches had occurred. The captain casually mentioned that the underwater observatory was destroyed by the incessant rain last winter and yet to be rebuilt! The majestic Bowen Falls was breathtaking as well.
The fjords left a lasting memory indeed. As usual we clicked a few pictures knowing fully well that it cannot possibly capture the beauty of this place that can only be experienced first hand.
Our return journey was much more prosaic as we made a dash back home amidst heavy rain with just a single stop at Te Anau to take a quick break and grab a bite. I tried to honest my wet weather skills with a few overtakes at pretty high speeds that was nerve wracking at times with oncoming traffic all but a blur in the water spray. However it was not without surprise as while waiting for the tunnel signal, we caught sight of a Kea, which is a large parrot that is endemic to South Island and highly intelligent. It perched on a pole nearby and posed for all our pictures. It even perched atop the bonnet of the car in front of us to scan the passengers and casually walked towards our car to bid us goodbye when the lights turned green!
After 14 hours on the road, we made it back to the hotel in one piece, which is a great achievement in itself. Today was a great chapter in the magic of nature in NZ! Tomorrow is a different story with another rainy day in the offing so fingers crossed hoping the weather doesn't spoil our skydiving and paragliding plans.
No comments:
Post a Comment