{"id":28398,"date":"2016-09-25T10:56:20","date_gmt":"2016-09-25T08:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/milford-sound\/"},"modified":"2020-07-06T10:12:18","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T08:12:18","slug":"cruising-milford-sound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/en\/cruising-milford-sound\/","title":{"rendered":"Cruising on Milford Sound"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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After a month spent on my dairy farm<\/strong><\/a> in Southland, Julie, the young woman from the farm takes me to Te Anau in Fiordland to see her parents. Jill and Alan live in the small village of Te Anau on the edge of Fiordland National Park, located in the south-west of the South Island. We leave the farm, accompanied by Isla, Carter and Chloe, Monday September 5 after the evening meal. I do not distinguish much from the landscape, the night having fallen. Te Anau appears around 10pm and Jill and Alan welcome us. Transportation of sleeping children in their respective beds and I don’t mind going to bed too. Tomorrow I am going to visit Milford Sound.<\/p>

Te Anau is the perfect place to explore the Fiordland region. From the village, it is possible to visit a good part of the region’s fjords and to do a lot of hikes including three Great Walks (the so-called best multi-day hikes of New Zealand). I had planned to content myself with hiking, cruises in the fjords being far too expensive and too touristy. But Julie found, a few days before coming to Te Anau, a cruise on the Milford Sound at a reduced price. $90 instead of $175. Although it is still too expensive, I let myself be tempted. Comfort shuttle of only eighteen places, photo stops, short trips during the journey, two-hour cruise with buffet. And it is Julie\u2019s cousin who\u2019s driving the shuttle. He will come to pick me up directly from Julie’s parents’ house at 8am tomorrow morning. Touristy but great opportunity… when the opportunity presents itself, sometimes you have to seize it.<\/p>

The next day I wake up with a superb weather. The view from the living room is magnificent. Pretty houses with large gardens and the snow-capped Murchison Mountains in the background. I get dressed, eat breakfast quickly and Justin arrives to pick me up. We are only three passengers. Two young Australians and me. The day will be quiet. Justin introduces himself and explains the course of the day to us. Approximately two hours of journey with photo breaks \/ walks to arrive at the fjord around 10:30 am. From there we embark on our boat at 11am for a 1h40 cruise. Justin then picks us up around 1p.m. to be back in Te Anau around 3:30p.m. It is a bit shorter than I imagined but it is like that. We follow Te Anau lake<\/strong><\/a>, which gave its name to the village and I am impressed. The lake is gigantic (344 km2) with many arms that sink through the mountains. The difference in temperature between the cold night and a day that promises to be warm produces a light haze in places. We arrive at Te Anau Downs, a large farm on the edge of the lake where a little harbor is also located to reach the start of the Milford Track, the best known of the Great Walks, only accessible by boat. From there, the road leaves the lake to enter the Eglinton Valley, a superb valley once occupied by a glacier. It is filled with a meadow of yellow herbs and bounded by steep mountains. The place is covered with mist this morning, which makes the landscape extraordinary.<\/p>

We make our first stop along small Mirrors Lakes to stretch our legs and appreciate the reflection of the Earl Mountains in the waters of the lake. It is freezing cold. The Disappearing Mountain plays an optical illusion for us. As we get closer, the mountain seems to shrink. Second stop for a photo break in front of the waters of Lake Gunn. The perfectly calm water allows an absolutely incredible reflection of the landscape. At the end of the long valley we cross the Homer Tunnel. This old tunnel cut out of solid granite required twenty years of work. It measures 1270 meters and is one-way. A spectacular view of the valley awaits us on the other side.<\/p>

A short forty-minute stroll to see The Chams, waterfalls in the tumultuous waters of the Cleddau River. They have sculpted the rocks surrounding the waterfalls for thousands of years, giving them strange shapes. Back at the parking lot where Justin is waiting for us, I meet a Kea, the largest alpine parrot in New Zealand. It is the first time I see a wild one. It is not shy at all, walking quietly between the few cars parked in the parking lot. Justin explains that the Keas are alpine parrots living on the South Island and endangered. They are very curious, mischievous birds who have not learned the concept of the danger that men \/ cars \/ dogs can represent. Generally in a group, they don’t hesitate to climb on cars, peck the rubber around the windows or rummage in the bags left unattended. This can cause some problems with the many tourists who visit Milford Sound. (A link<\/strong><\/a> to listen to the particular cry of the Keas).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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