Fiords and much much more! (Part one)

Blog 24 -- Fiords, cliffs, waterfalls and much much more! (PART ONE) - Milford Sound

extract from last paragraph of Blog 23: -

"The hostel we are staying at is basic accommodation but clean and surprisingly it did have an evening meal selection which was excellent quality. It's still raining but hopefully tomorrow will be just right for a boat trip to remember for ever".

Blog 24 (part one)

Our boat awaits!

We wake up early for we have a boat to catch. A good and hearty breakfast is consumed and we go down the short stretch to meet the boat. We are again so lucky and it's a gorgeous day just right for exploring the Fiord and stopping off later at the Milford Underwater Discovery Centre in Harrison Cove. 

First look at Mitre Peak

This is our first chance to see the mile high cone of Mitre Peak and the dramatic Milford Sound, the most northerly of the 14 fiords in Fiordland. Technically they should not be named 'Sounds' for they are actually Fiords (Kiwi spelling with no 'j' that is used in Scandinavia fjords).  This 'Sound' is an incredibly deep U shaped inlet formed by glacial action millions of years ago.  A true 'Sound' is a river valley that has been flooded due to the land sinking below sea level. 

The majestic Mitre Peak

That was a mistake made by the early Sailors who were mostly of English and Welsh extraction and had never seen a real fiord. The map was drawn up and the name has just stuck since the late 18th century. In fact the Kiwi Government tried to correct this error by naming the whole area Fiordland and admit now to making the spelling mistake on the revised map so that has stuck as well having no 'j'. Two mistakes in the title but no mistaking the raw beauty that meets our eyes as we start to sail away west from the dock side.  

At 265m deep (thats twice the depth of Loch Ness) most of the water is salty but there's a 5m layer of fresh water on top due to the extremely high rainfall here at an annual average of 7 metres, not including the rivers and waterfalls which run into it - now that's a lot of buckets to fill. Jacky informs me that the wettest area in England is Cumbria and the Lake District with over 2 metres a year. Western Highlands in Scotland are on average around 3metres..

Clear water and high cliffs

The fresh water picks up tannin from plants and soil which gives the water the colour of tea but it's still remarkably clean and fresh and a few degrees warmer than the bottom ocean salt depths. What is interesting is that at around 40m most of the sunlight is blocked out by the dark top layers of tannin and therefore deep sea species you would find in the surrounding ocean are nearly all here but now visible at the upper warmer calmer levels of the Sound below the fresh water. 

All four seasons in a day

This 'deep water emergence' effect is further enhanced by the lack of ocean swell and sediment in the Sound and therefore gives the waters here a unique mix of life including seals, dolphins, sea stars, fish, penguins, rare black coral, eels, sponges and much much more. The rare black coral only seen here looks white and has been growing in these waters for 200 million years living at a depth of 10m; when out in the ocean it is normally only found at depths of 500m or more.. We hope to see a lot of these species today especially in the underwater observatory I mentioned earlier. 

The first thing you notice here is the sheer majesty of the cliff face that is just a sheer glacial wall of rock that stretches directly up on each side of the deep U shape Sound. We are again lucky that we can witness all four seasons in one day; the winter snow flourish on the 1623m Mitre Peak, the golden Autumn tree colours, the spring water falls and the summer heat. It's unusual to have all four at the same time but such has been the rain and cold nights experienced here in the last week or so the outcome is simply stunning.

The Sandfly - scratch scratch!

The least popular inhabitant here is the sandfly. Horrible little blighters that a gentle swat or swish will not repel but only makes them come at you even more. The male sandfly is vegetarian but it's those ladies that love to suck your blood and their bite is itchy and leaves you scratching for days. Captain Cook called them " a most mischievous animal".  Maori folk lore says that these biters were introduced here by a Goddess to keep others away so she could have the place all to herself. Now I know my place so I am saying nothing other than 'deet' up before you walk the shore line or disembark at one of many of the islands in the Sound. 

The Endeavor

The extinct Singing Thrush

Captain Cook

The Maori named this magical place Piopiotahi meaning the place of the Singing Thrush after a bird that is unfortunately another species that is now sadly extinct. It was Captain Cook's expedition that named Milford after Milford Haven in North Wales but I have to say there is absolutely no comparison in the world between both places. I can only presume one of his Officers came from this town and that was the only connection. This early 1773 expedition soon took the attention of Whalers and Sealers who arrived to form the first European Settlers in NZ. This Country is very young in human terms but millions of years old in developing this raw natural wonder of the world.

Fairy Falls

Fur Seals basking peacefully

We stop on the way for the bow of the boat to dip under Fairy Falls and we all had a glass of fresh water which was beautifully cool and so fresh. We also spotted fur seals basking on the rocks, they certainly look much happier now at being in this paradise after nearly becoming extinct in the hunting days which for those adorable creatures now thankfully seems a long time ago. 

St Ann's Point and the Tasman Sea

We work our way out to St Annes Point the opening to the Tasman Sea and I wonder what those first intrepid explorers thought when they entered these waters. I guess they never thought that 250 years later thousands of tourists a year would be coming here in a different form of transport to the sail and oar with just the wind and stars to guide them. This weather is just unbelievable considering what we experienced yesterday. The Captain tells us that this is the calmest the inlet has been in weeks so the good Lord is certainly looking after us.

Stirling Falls

We turn around and head back to one of the most awesome sights, the Stirling Falls where water pours down the glacial rocks - the boat goes underneath the fall and if you put on the appropriate clothing given to you you can stand outside and get drenched in the pure refreshing water. A wonderful moment and you feel the enormous power that falling water generates. 

Milford Obsevatory

We are now at the Milford Discovery Centre an underwater observatory. We tie up and travel a short distance looking back at Mitre Peak in the distance. Our guide informs us of the geology, natural history and conservation effects of Milford Sound before we descend 10 metres under the water to a 360 degree view of the waters below us. We are in their world, the marine life; they are not captured in ours and made to look good. This is natural and it feels like we are Scuba diving without the bottles. Colourful sea creatures, the rare black coral, it is all here, primeval creatures, exotic habitats and the fascinating 

Sea life at the Obsevatory

More sea life through the window

sights of ocean depths. Butterfly and Sea Perch, Marble and Scarlet Wrasse, Triple Fin, Urchin, Anemone and many more besides. 

The black coral and sea life

Stay long enough and you might see a small shark or a seal, Everyday something different, that's what is so unique about this place. In the short time we were there you were just glued to the various windows. Some of the types of glass used in other observatories distort or magnify the fish but not here, the special plastic heavy load material gave us life like shapes. The only disadvantage is that on the camera most photos had a bluish green tint but hopefully you get the idea of what a fantastic place this is at any time of year.

The majesty that is Milford Sound

Heading back after our morning in the Sound I could not help thinking how extraordinarily lucky and privileged we have been to see this piece of nature, especially on a beautiful day following yesterday's rainfall. Whatever your reason for coming here you will simply be blown away. Not by the wind that can blow strongly off the Tasman Sea as Captain Cook found out, but by the sheer majesty of granite cliffs towering to the sky, the shimmering tea stained depth of the clear waters, the primeval tree lined shores and the exotic marine life, rare birds and mammals. 

Maori Adze tool

According to Maori Legend the great Explorer Tu-te-raki-whanoa carved out these fiords with his pounamu (greenstone) adze tool. Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) was indeed his greatest achievement.  He had started in the South with the many islands and by the time he reached here the most northerly of the 14 fiords he had perfected his technique and carved an awe-inspiring fiord.

Last look at Mitre Peak

I finish the Maori legend appropriately where I started. The Goddess of the underworld I talked about earlier in this blog was named Hine-nui-te-po. She heard about the skill of Tu and came to see his handiwork and was so alarmed that the immense beauty would be stolen she created the sandfly to encourage visitors to leave as quickly as they came. Don't worry about the sandfly because they do not come near you on a boat in the middle of the Sound, try and get here just once in your lifetime, like we did and enjoy one of the worlds greatest pieces of nature...

The Road to Manapouri

We travelled back along the Milford Road and spent an hour in Te Anau (ironically had a coffee at the Sandfly Cafe eating carrot cake!) before heading down the short distance (and seeing more sheep) to our evening lodge accommodation at Lake Manapouri and a visit to Doubtful Sound tomorrow. Can it get any better than today, if you pardon the pun - it is very doubtful indeed! What an extraordinary day it has been. 

Come back for blog 25 and part two of Fiordland - Doubtful Sound, Lake Manapouri and the ingenuity of Hydro electric power..... DKT