Milford Sound

Before I get into this post too much, there are some things you need to know about Milford Sound…

First of all, Milford Sound is a fjord, not a sound.

To make up for naming it incorrectly, they named the area Fiordland. Clearly they didn’t have spell-check back then, because it should have been spelled Fjordland.

If you ever go there, be prepared for mean little buggars called Sandflies. So many bug bites, and one even flew into my eye!

For those of you who don’t know, a sound is carved by water, while a fjord is carved by glaciers. The biggest difference visiually is that the valley is more of a U shape than a V shape. As you first drive into the Milford Sound area (even if you’re nowhere near the water), the first thing you notice is how tall the mountains are and how steep the slopes are. There were definitely areas that looked near vertical, but if I had to guess, most of the slopes were probably angled between 60 and 75 degrees. I have never seen anything quite as spectacular as these mountain peaks coming out of land that had been pressed flat by previous glaciers.

There is only one hotel (/hostel) in the Milford Sound area. It also holds the closest thing in the area to a convinence store within an hour and a half’s drive. The area does have an airport though, and on nice days it can be the busiest airport in New Zealand. This was when we first learned about sandflies and why bug spray is important. Before the first night was over, I probably had at least 10 sandfly bites. You learn to make sure your roommates close the door to your room, and that exploring at dusk isn’t the best idea unless you don’t mind getting your face swarmed.

The morning of our kayak was mysteriously cloudy. We could see the bottoms of the mountains, but there was a very distinct line where we couldn’t see past the clouds. Our American guide told us that these were her favorite mornings, comparing it to a striptease. According to her, when you see everything instantly on a bright summer day, “it’s like full-frontal nudity… a little much”. As the day went on, the clouds slowly cleared, allowing the full mountains to tower over us and be even more awe-inspiring than we expected.

I really enjoyed having a guided tour because I wouldn’t have known things like that the two permanent waterfalls at Milford Sound are both glacier-fed and over 150m tall (that’s 3x the height of Niagra!) Also, because the trees grow out of the cliff faces almost horizontally in some places, the area is prone to “tree avalanches”, where literally one tree breaks loose, falls, and takes out everything below it as well. There’s a lot of cool environmental and biological things I learned that day, but I’ll save it for in-person babbling for anyone who’s interested enough to ask me.

Also, in case you’re wondering, it’s even prettier than in a postcard. Or on the internet. There’s a reason why it was named one of the eight wonders of the world.