1/9/23 – Milford Sound

WOW!!!! No pictures that we could take can do justice to the awesome beauty of this fiord in Fiordland National Park in the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. We traveled with “realNZ” via charter bus from Te Anau to the ferry docks at Milford Sound. We made numerous stops along the way to Milford Sound during a 2+ hour journey. Our guide described the landscape and how it came to be. The beech forests are dense. Of note was that the bottom of the sound is actually below sea level! The area on both sides of the road to Milford Sound is very steep and prone to avalanches and consequently results in the road being closed on average 50 days/year. At Milford Sound we boarded our ferry and picked up a wonderful picnic lunch and found a very comfortable spot next to a window (of course!). Upon completion of lunch we made our way to the front of the ferry & outside so we could look up, forward, right & left, and back … did not want to miss anything!!! The front position was very windy as we made our way to the Tasman Sea. Once we turned around it was quite comfortable😊. On our return journey we saw seals sunning themselves and a school of dolphins entertaining all of the sightseers. We traveled near enough to a waterfall to get adequately sprayed. Our guides noted that the only other place in the world where you can see a glacier + a rainforest + the sea is in Patagonia in Chile… amazing! When the ferry landed and we boarded our charter bus for the return trip to Te Anau, we both were glad we were not making the two hour drive in the camper van!!!!