Milford Sound

February 3, 2011

All of us woke up early, early this morning and traveled 4 hours from Queenstown to Milford Sound. The drive down was gorgeous.I saw a gorgeous sunrise, many of the Lord of the Rings sites including the Ride to Rohan and Fargon Forest. The drive there was long and cold because our windows were down, but the scene was breath taking. There were mountains covered in glaciers, a stream with the bluest water I have ever seen, the Southern Alps, and lots of waterfalls. The glaciers I saw today, were my first glimpses ever of glaciers, pretty cool. To get to the sound we had to go through the longest tunnel I have ever been through. We stuck our heads out the windows and yelled and screamed as loud as we could through the whole tunnel. It was pretty fun. I think I might keep that tradition.

The Milford Sound is known as the 8th wonder of the world. We went on a boat ride through the sound and we were glad there was an inside to the boat because it was cold and rainy outside. The boat ride was gorgeous. I went out on the back and top of the boat to see the gorgeous waterfalls coming straight off the mountains into the sound it was one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen. The fact that it was slightly rainy on our ride made the ride even more perfect because hundreds of other waterfalls formed. We even got right under some of the water falls where we could feel the mist form the falls and saw some wild baby fur seals. We were also luck enough to see some dolphins. On the ride, I learned that Milford Sound is not a sound, but a fjord because it was formed by glaciers. The boat ride took us all the way through the sound to the Tasman Sea. Because it leads into salt water, there is a layer of fresh water over the salt water.

The sound really is one of the most beautiful places in the world . Seeing footage of it in Avatar or Jurassic Park or even taking pictures is no comparison to actually being there. On the way back though the sound, our boat stopped at an underwater observatory where we were able to go 10 meters below the surface where the water is really dark because of the layer of fresh water over the salt water. This unique experience allowed us to see animals and plants that only live in the darkest parts of the ocean. It was pretty cool we saw the New Zealand black coral that is really white and the New Zealand spotted fish which is a female at birth and then changes to a male once it reaches 20cm. Just to name a few. Pretty cool.By the time we were ready to get back on the boat it was foggy and pouring outside. Our captain had to use the map of the sound to steer since he couldn't see through the fog. The pouring rain made hundreds of more waterfall form, which was pretty spectacular to see. Once we arrived back at the dock, it was still raining was we plied into the vans and started our dive back to Queenstown.

Because of the rain our driver James wanted to get out before the place flooded but the rain made the view on the way home even more beautiful than on the way there. There were hundreds of waterfalls coming off the Southern Alps. It was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. I kept expecting a taradacle to fly by it was so enchanting. Words could never begin to describe how gorgeous it was. We really do live in a beautiful world and it is amazing that places like this exist. I love the whole view on the way home. Being in New Zealand is such a blessing and seeing this part of the world is like a dream. Once we got back , most of us went for a run and called it  a night.