Milford Sound

Milford Sound is actually misnamed. It is a fiord carved out by glaciers. Many call Milford the most beautiful and iconic place in New Zealand. Even after such a buildup, it did not disappoint.

Half of the Milford Sound adventure is getting there. On the road to Milford we wound our way through and around dozens of steep-sided (some nearly 90-degrees), snow-capped peaks with innumerable waterfalls cascading thousands of feet down. We passed through Homer’s Tunnel, a kilometer long, unlit death trap with exposed rock walls and a dirt road surface. The route was definitely our most scenic and exciting drive yet. Unfortunately, it was like the Grand Canyon – too big to photograph well, so you’ll have to take our word for it.

Milford Sound was equally amazing. We decided to see it best we’d have to get out on the water so we signed up for a two hour cruise that took us through the Sound (fiord) out to the Tasman Sea and back. Below are some pictures from the boat ride. There were so many great pictures it was difficult for us to narrow it down!

Milford Sound resembles a flooded Yosemite Valley. Mountains rise steeply right up out of the water. Some are as high as 8000 feet. That’s a bigger vertical drop than just about anything we’ve got in Colorado! Our boat driver decided to wash the windows in this 500-foot waterfall.

Above is a picture from the end of the journey: the Tasman Sea. This was an exciting U-Turn! If we would have kept going for six days, we would have hit Tasmania (in Australia).