Kayaking Milford Sound

Yesterday we rode the bus from Queenstown to Te Anau - our "base camp" for getting to Milford Sound. Today we went on a day kayak in Milford Sound with Fiordland Wilderness Experience, and they were awesome! Our friendly guide, Adrian, picked us up at 6:30am, and he was remarkably chipper despite the fact that he had probably already been up for a couple of hours. We picked up the rest of our group, and then commenced on one of the most scenic drives in the world.

The freezing air and frosty ground was well worth the view of the snow-dusted mountain tops. We stopped at a lookout point for a hot chocolate and a gaze at the mountains rising up through the tree-filled valleys.


Snow-dusted mountain tops at daybreak 

At our launch site, we were issued woollens (long undies), fleeces including hats with earflaps, and waterproof gear - Hallelujah! We looked hysterical but had no worries; we were so happy to be warm. We decided that Fiordland Wilderness Experience has the best gear ever! We packed lunches and extra clothing into our kayaks and then carried our kayaks to the edge of the water. Our toes were still a bit numb from the frosty weather, and we eyed the water with dread. But our excellent guide, Adrian, had us get in our kayaks and then he gave us a helping shove into the water - he was the only one who got his feet wet in the icy waters of Milford Sound. What a guide!

As we paddled out into the fjord, (Milford Sound is actually a fjord, but early explorers accidentally misnamed it a sound. By the time they realized it was a fjord, the government had already printed up maps of the area, so the name has stuck. However, the national park is named Fiordland. Adrian schooled us: A fjord is created by a glacier; a sound is created by a river.) we saw a NZ fur seal swimming happily along - he was such a cutie!

We crossed the fjord for an upclose look at impressive Bowen Falls, which drops over 400 feet into the fjord. We stayed away from the sheer cliff next to the waterfall as earthquakes can cause giant boulders to hurtle downwards - ack!

After paddling past towering Mitre Peak, we pulled out on a rocky beach and ate our delicious lunches. Despite the lack of sand, there was no lack of sand flies, but the homemade Okarito bug repellent worked its wonders: No bites!


Milford Sound 

Distances are amazingly deceiving in the fjords: You don't realize you're 2km from the edge of the mountain until you see what appears to be a toy-size cruise ship moving along between you and said mountain.

On our way back, we spotted another seal sunning in shallow water. He bobbed his head and wet little muzzle, waved his flippers (to cool down), and did a handstand, flippered feet popping skyward.

Back at our entry point, the sand flies had apparently received word of our arrival - they met us in hordes. Although the droves of them were maddening, the Okarito bug juice worked like magic. Adrian told us the Maori version of Milford Sound (I hope I get this right): After one of the gods had created Milford Sound, she invited some of the other gods to come see it. They found it so beautiful they stayed, and stayed, and stayed. She finally asked a friend of hers who was evil to mar Milford's beauty so the other gods would go away and get back to their own work. The evil god was so taken by Milford Sound's beauty that she created something so small as to barely be noticeable. Her friend said, "This is perfect, but I need far more," so she created hundreds of thousands of this small bit of evil and they drove the other gods away. Can you guess what they are? Yup, sand flies.

We left the sand flies in Milford and enjoyed a leisurely drive home with many scenic stops and even a short hike, plus more hot chocolate and biscuits (cookies).

Fiordland is worth seeing, and Fiordland Wilderness Experience is the best company to show it to you. If it's the high season, skip Milford and go to Doubtful Sound instead.

Signing off from another great day in New Zealand,
Teej