Milford Sound is a fiord in the west coast of the south island of New Zealand, it runs 15 kilometers inland from the Tasman sea. Based in the Fiordland National Park it is New Zealands most visited tourist destination. Sheer rock faces rise up from the sea to over 4000 ft in places. Having nearly 200 days of rain per year on average it is the wettest recoreded place in New Zealand and because of this I was well prepared with my emergency poncho kept from an open top bus tour from somewhere.

The fiord was actually overlooked for sometime with various explorers sailing past due to its concealed entrance, even Captain James Cooked sailed past oblivious to the huge inlet nearby.

The boat took me out for a couple of hours around the sound, the weather was freak as in it was clear blue skies and the sun was shining which was very unusual. Even in the rain it is supposed to be spectacular as the waterfalls can actually appear to go upwards as the wind picks them up and sends them skywards.

Its a beautiful area which fortunately can’t be changed due to the geography of the place, difficult to get into, sheer rock faces, governed by a national park, this is a place the developers will never get their hands on.

The mountains around the sound –

Milfird Sound Verdict – one of New Zealands must see attractions, can’t have changed for thousands of years so you are seeing an untouched natural part of the world. Go there !!

Te Anau is a town situated on yep you guessed it, the shore of another lake.  Lake Te Anau is the largest lake on the south island in the Fiordland area. With only a couple of thousand inhabitants there is in fact over 4000 beds available in the summer season for visitors.

The town is a peaceful affair and fortunately they haven’t been tempted to build lots of places next to the waters edge. Its all very natural, open and always views of the lake from the edge of town.

A good reason to come to Te Anua is that its closer to Milford Sound, a very picturesque part of the south island which really is a must see place.  Most people either travel from Queenstown or Te Anua to get there but travelling from Te Anua shaves another 4 hours from the round trip.

The trip leaves town and takes a couple of hours climbing mountains, following rivers, going through tunnels, all to get to the inlet of Milford Sound.

On the way we stopped at Mirror lakes, the water so still it reflects the mountains behind. Nobody though had told the two ducks who were paddling about and causing the water to ripple so much nothing could be seen. The large group of Asian tourists didn’t really understand what they were looking at and for once their cameras stayed in their pockets. Being the cunning man that I am I searched for some food crumbs in the bottom of my bag and in my pockets and soon tempted the ducks way from the center of the pond.

Scenary on the way to Milford Sound –

A native bird of New Zealand – the Kea, the worlds only Alpine parrot !! These guys can strip the windscreen rubber from your car in a few minutes !!

Milford Sound blog to follow shortly !!

Te Anua Verdict – a small town away from the maddening crowds (not that NZ has many of those) but a great place to stop off, relax, recharge and head for Milford Sound.