Milford Sound Day Trip

Today is Friday, February 18th.....and we left Te Anau this morning to venture down to Milford Sound and a cruise out to the open sea......

Over a thousand years ago, Maori travelled overland in New Zealand to Milford Sound in search of a much prized greenstone, pounamu.  In those days it was a journey via footpath and overt mountain pass and tracks.  Today....the journey is taken thru the Homer Tunnel..1.2km long and drilled through solid rock!!

And guess what.....no toll booth!!

Mirror Lake was on the way and I found it so beautiful and we negotiated a Chasm to get there.....Now a Chasm is....

but....look at the results....

Yes....created by the flow of water over thousands of years....

Now the mirror lake is just that....

and a little duck was there to greet us.....

The best was yet to come.....Milford Sound.....it was breathtaking....

And the sound led to the open sea.....now just imagine...this sound as been visited by Cunard line's QE2...as well as cruise ships from the Princess line....since the sound is 1,000 ft deep it can be easily navigated, however ships cannot anchor!!  Here is the inlet to the Ocean....

Here I am with the Sound at my back.....

On our return in the sound we visited a waterfall...and the ship went as close as you would like.....

Ria, one of my tour was very close to the shower provided by the waterfall.....but enjoyed every minute....

And finally here is Ria and Rita as we stopped for a rest break on our way back to Te Anau...

Okay....that wraps it up for today...and for tomorrow....well  maybe...just maybe it is in this picture....well just maybe....