After finishing our cruise on Marlborough Sound, we went back to the airport in Blenheim and flew to Te Anau.  Te Anau is in the southern part of New Zealand’s south island, just a little more than 3,000 miles from the South Pole.  Today our tour would take us to Milford Sound – and there would be incredible beauty every step of the way.  Our first stop was Mirror Lakes.  These are small lakes very close to the road on which we were traveling – there is a boardwalk, making it a very easy walk.  Because it was a still day, we saw beautiful reflections of the Earl Mountains and the plants that were growing alongside the lakes.  As we returned to the bus, arrows on the road reminded everyone on which side of the road we should be driving (such reminders were frequent in both Australia and New Zealand)!

We then continued on Milford Road, and saw absolutely beautiful scenery as we traveled.  The mountains we saw are part of the Southern Alps.   The second pictures shows evidence of a past tree avalanche.  You will see red lichen in the third picture – this only grows where there is 0% pollution.  The air here is some of the cleanest you can breathe. The last picture is one of the glaciers in the region.

We then made a stop at The Chasm which is part of Fiordland National Park.  When we first arrived at The Chasm, we saw kea in the parking lot.  They are the world’s only alpine parrot.  Our guide told us they are attracted to rubber (like windshield wipers) and shiny things resulting in occasional mischievous behavior. There is some interest in making them New Zealand’s national bird.

We then walked through The Chasm along the Cleddau River.   This is a rainforest and walking among the trees was beautiful.  The peacefulness of the trees contrasted with the roaring sound of water.  We could see and hear the powerful water rushing between rocks – some of these pictures were taken as I looked down at the water from a footbridge.  A chasm is a fissure in the earth, and one can get a sense of this looking down at the water pounding the rocks.  The force of the water was evident in how the rocks had been moved and shaped.

We then drove a little farther and arrived for our cruise on Milford Sound.  It is actually a fiord and is part of Fiordland National Park.  The fiord is an inlet of the Tasman Sea – it is 7 1/2 miles long and about 1,000 feet deep.  Milford Sound is considered one of the most beautiful places in the world and the area was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.   There was a little mist in the air the day of our cruise but it added to the “mystique.”

We passed by walls of rock…

…and stunning waterfalls!

Like the boats approaching the waterfall in the first picture, we also maneuvered close to a waterfall and had the opportunity to feel its spray.  In the last picture, our tour director, Tom, is doing just that!

After a day filled with incredible scenery, it was time to head back to our hotel and rest up for tomorrow’s adventures.  As we traveled back, we made our way through dramatic curves, unusual signs (at least for me, living in the midwest), and went through the Homer Tunnel.  The tunnel opened in 1954 and allows passage through the Darran mountain range.  It is about 3/4 of a mile long.  It is named after William Henry Homer who discovered the Homer Saddle in 1889 and suggested the idea of a tunnel to provide access to Milford Sound.