Everything was still wet after a rainy night and the space between the inner tent and the outer cover was filled with sandflies who seemed to have no intention what so ever of leaving, even when we tried to shake them out of the tent. The car too was buzzing with them.
All that aside, what a truly beautiful place to camp and very memorable too.
We headed back on the road and made another stop at Pop's View looking over the Hollyford Valley, to take advantage of the clear morning and get some better piccies of the view...
Only a few clouds hanging low over the beech forest.
Kia free, we left with the car undamaged!
Travelling on our way to meet the boat at Milford Sound, the mountains continued to rise up to increasingly enormous heights, towering over the road. It was all pretty incredible...
The glacier cap (on the mountain on the left) had huge stepped ridges of snow built up on the top.
We stopped at another lay-by to take in the views...
There were several Kia here walking about amongst the cars, so we left asap.
Whilst waiting in a 15 min queue for the lights to change to let our side of traffic through, we could really start to appreciate the the construction of the Homer tunnel. Originally in 1935 a gang of 5 work men started digging with hand tools. Many lives were claimed over the years through collapses, accidents and avalanches and it was finally completed in 1954.
When we drove through, the tunnel seemed very narrow and the immediate rock face was exposed and full of pouring water, all a bit nerve racking really.
Looking up at the foreboding mountains as we waited in the queue.
On the other side of the Homer tunnel, we had crossed what is know as the Cleddau Valley.
Wiji was particularly struck with the many waterfalls on this mountain face.
The tiny road winding through the valley.
At Milford Sound we managed to catch some early morning reflections...
On the left is Mitre Peak reaching 1692m in height.
We loved the low wispy clouds...
And the shadows that they cast over the mountain forests.
We had booked a two and a half hour nature cruise down the Sound and chosen one of the smaller boats. We were really pleased to find that the group was even smaller than expected, with only 40 or so people rather than the maximum 70 on the boat. A young Kiwi lad was doing the commentary from the bow of the boat and we joined him outside to take in the scenery...
Passing Bowen falls as we left the dock.
He explained that the Sound was actually really a fiord that was created by the movement of a glacier, rather that the movement of millions of years of water. We were outraged!
The Sutherland Valley was named after the Welsh prospector who found enough gold to build the first lodge that was located where the present visitor centre is. He named the area after his home town of Milford in Wales. Questions like how on earth did he manage to actually get into the mountains back in the day, were on our minds.
The Sound was beautifully calm.
We read that heavy rain causes tree avalanches that crash down the mountainside! That would have been particularly spectacular to witness!
The kiwi commentator was clearly disappointed that it wasn't raining. He told us that if it had been raining the waterfall would have covered the the whole width of the vegetation free rock face below, and would have caused the many other waterfalls along Milford Sound to become raging torrents. We were actually pleased that it wasn't raining and was indeed a beautiful sunny, clear morning.
The rock face at the Sound is nearly vertical and this meant that the boat could drive up practically right against it.
7m of rain falls on average in this part of Fiordland.
'Everything is named incorrectly here' said the commentator, when questioned about the Fur seals, who have ears and split fins. He agreed that those characteristic classify them as sea lions.
Hard to get comfy on the rock? Not really! But how did they get up there?
Two juvenile males take it easy.
The 'u' shaped ridge in the mountains below is apparently a typical indicator that this landscape was carved by a glacier.
Our first view of Sterling falls.
The captain pulled the boat right into the rock face at a smaller waterfall...
So that the bow of the boat was under the cascade of water...
He called for volunteers to don macs and fill up some glasses from the waterfall. He was very excited about this, getting 'wit' seemed to be a cool key feature of his job. He then encouraged everyone to drink the tannin coloured 'fresh alpine' water and we dutifully clinked our glasses together and said 'cheers to giardia'! Oh hooray, at least we were 99.9% sure a dead sheep had not been floating in it, LOL.
Aaaah the tannin waters...
Sleepy head: 'Mmmm, my tummy does feel a bit funny'...
'No love, we're just slightly worse for wear from camping, red wine and curry!'
Pulling into another waterfall so that people had the chance to get wet...
Catching a rainbow in the falls.
Possibly imagining lunch...
Further down the Sound we came across another colony. How did they get up there? That would have been really interesting to see!
Just the right angle?
The kiwi lad doing the commentary casually suggested that the people on the bow of the boat with him might like to put their cameras away as we were reaching the end of the Sound momentarily and the water might become a bit choppy. That it did. Waves started to break nearing the top of the side of the boat, we decided it would be a good time to go in. We stood inside in the nick of time to see an almighty 3m wave break over the bow and onto all the people still out there. The people inside who were not holding on or sat down, were on the floor clinging to their cameras. A small swell in the Tasman sea, the turning of the boat and the crashing wave was a delight to the kiwi commentator who stood proudly soaked in a Titanic-esq pose and said over the mic ' ah, if you don't git wit, I haven't don my job'. It was evident from the faces of those who got violently soaked or thrown to the floor that this wasn't such a thrill! It was genius, he did love his job!
Looking back down the Sound and appreciating the calm sheltered waters even more.
We returned to Sterling Falls on the way back, so that the boat could drive closer to it and everyone could put on the macs and get 'wit'.
Wiji in the centre feeling the force!
Holding on tight to the mac...
Afterwards Wiji described it as being in a very damp wind tunnel with a mac that was three times too small. Lol.
Aaaah alpine fresh!
I stayed inside, yes to 'capture' these moments...mmmm...
And to watch the terrified crying children in the arms of their parents. Quality family moments! Lol.
Looking back at the falls, from a distance.
Evidence of the glacier movement in the rock face.
Scanning the ladscape and water... Where are you, crested penguins?
Mt. Tutoko in the distance, Fiordland's highest peak at 2746m.
Joy! Two crested penguins on the rock, who seemed to be having some kind of argument...
One of them marched off...
Then had to turn back for the final say...
We watched them both momentarily abandon the argument to turn and squawk loudly in unison at the man in a kayak below who was way too close, (yes he knew it was directed at him!) Then in an act of good will, and knowing that they were surrounded, they seemed to call a truce and the penguin on the left put its arm around the one on the right to guide it down the rock...'come on then'.
'Go on'... It was so brilliant to watch and we were really thrilled to have seen the crested penguins. I couldn't help thinking that the blond side streaks reminded me of a popular Tamarside boys haircut...
As we left them to it they seemed to resume the argument.
Mt Tutoko.
We were on the home straight now and passed Bowen Falls again. The lad doing the commentary recommended the walk to the top saying that he and his mate took some beers up to enjoy the view...
After getting off the boat we were met by bus loads of people for the big boat tours, we decided to get off and away in the car, quick smart.
Driving back up Cleddau Valley. This time round the sun was out!
Oh yes, very!
Finally on our way back, I took a photograph that really seemed to capture the colours of the mountains and yellow broom in Te Anua!
1 comment:
loved the photos.must have missed the events with kia's. thought you were on about cars to begin with. what beautiful moss!! could'nt have left it~ only if i had known the lupins were coming up.maybe those seals had to stay there till the water rose.xxjp
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