Fiordland: Milford Sound

We’ve had a fantastic day here… perfect weather for Milford Sound.  The kayaking we wanted to do was full so we settled for a large boat nature cruise, which made it all the way out to Brig Rock in the Tasman Sea and back.  While just offshore an albatross (White-capped) obligingly put in an appearance, as well as a single Fiordland Penguin.  We also saw a kea and some fur seals. On the drive in and back we did several short hikes and nature walks and stopped numerous times to look at views of waterfalls, jagged peaks, and glaciers. The day was a miracle. Milford Sound gets 7 meters of rain a year, so we could have seen nothing but cloud and drizzle. Instead, we got drifts of cloud on the drive down and a spectacularly clear day. 

Early morning mountain reflection in a lake on the drive in

Drifts of cloud below the mountaintops

Up early--almost empty road

Coming down from the top of the pass

Milford Sound: Waterfalls and mountains dropping straight into the sea

Fur seals

Jennifer & Rich on Milford Sound Cruise

View on the way back to Te Anu: hike up to Lake Marian

Shaggy moss hiking the other end of the Routeburn Track

Mossy base of a tree along Routeburn Track

V. tired, but happy. We've been leaving our hostels fairly early in the morning and are out all day till late hiking and driving. Last night was the earliest we have eaten supper, starting just before 8:00. Since it's light so late, it's hard to stop before 7:30. We have a big day tomorrow in the Catlins and then we'll try to take a rest day in Karitane, north of Dunedin, so that Rich can put the finishing touches on his talk.