Day 35 Wanaka to Milford Sound

Day 35 Wanaka to Milford Sound

We breakfasted at the Cherry May café and set off on what was billed as a ‘driving day’ with a short, but challenging walk – but the heavy rain meant that Nicole changed the ‘short’ walk into a number of ‘short, short’ easy walks – leaving the more challenging one for tomorrow when predictions are for better weather. Nicole – and every Kiwi we met today – told us how lucky we were that it was raining…..  We eventually found out why….as we reached the Milford Highway and Homer tunnel, temporary waterfalls sprang into life, cascading hundreds of metres in thin ribbons of white threaded through the mountain vegetation.  It was equally spectacular in the fjord itself….

Our drive from Wanaka was filled with notable sights….colourful lupins (planted by colonists and later by tourists) along the roadsides and rivers, the beginning of a tent city at the location of the famous ‘Rhythm and Alps’ music festival which begins in a few days, the famous, historical Cardrona pub from the Speight beer adverts, cyclists fighting the rain and hills on their way to or from Queenstown, Arrowtown (a historical and touristy goldmining town), the Remarkables Mountains, filmed as the fiery mountains (Ered Lithiue) in Lord of the Rings (every time I think we’ve finished the LotR tour, another film set pops up….apparently there were 350 of them….), Garston (NZ’s most inland village) and the Kingston Flyer.(a working steam train – just for tourists, of course).

We actually stopped in Mossburn – the deer capital of NZ.  Red deer and wapiti were gifted to NZ by Theodore Roosevelt in the early 1900s for hunting but – as with most introduced species – became a pest…and in the 1960s it was decided to farm them.  So….a number of well-paid, brave (and foolhardy????) ‘cowboys’ jumped off the  skids of helicopters onto the backs of stags and wrestled them to the ground, capturing them to be transported to stations around Mossburn.  This story caused much hilarity on our bus as we imagined the meeting where it was decided that this was a good idea…. (Eventually it was decided that dropping nets might be a bit less risky..) 

Our lunch stop was at Te Anau, the gateway to ‘Fiordland’. There were some lovely cafes and shops and a beautiful lakeside.  We didn’t have time to do the cruise to the famous glow-worm caves…our intimate adventure at Punaikai will have to suffice for that….

Back on the bus, we passed Charteris station in Te Anau Downs – a huge station, made up of the parcels of land given to WW1 vets on their return from war after the vets gave up trying to farm land so far from everything with no roads….then   followed the Eglington River (world famous for fly-fishing, apparently) for a couple of hours, then stopped at Knob’s Flat for the ‘last flush toilets until Milford’ and to find out about the wildlife in the national park.  The pekapeka bat is New Zealand’s only native land-based mammal – and this is one of the only places they are likely to be seen….but only at night – so we’re not likely to see them here either.                   

We took the Lake Gunn walk in the rain….120 different types of moss, 3 types of beech, very unusual burls or galls and a plant called ‘stinkwood’ that certainly lived up to its name…..The lake was named for a farmer that had to walk his cows to market eight days from his station, along this lake with his dog Fergus….and who drowned with his dog one time when there was a flash flood…..The bodies were apparently found this time….but still another tragic story.

 We drove across ‘the Divide’ so back to the West Coast….along a section of road with 40 avalanche chutes….quite often closed in winter – no surprise… to a beautiful series of waterfalls, first at Falls Creek and then  beneath the huge MacPherson glacier, just before the Homer Tunnel.  We got out in the rain to photograph the beautiful scene and were rewarded by the additional sight of 2 cheeky kea birds, raising their green outer wings to show off the brilliant red/orange underneath.

The Homer Tunnel took 10 years to build – spread over 18years because the build was interrupted by WW2.  It was dug through 1.2km of solid granite – even dynamite explosions only moved it forward 30 cm at a time…. It is now the location of a naked race on every April 1^st….our guide, Nicole, came second last year…..

We then drove down to the edge of Milford Sound….arriving at 4:10 with boarding time for our cruise at 4:20….Nicole is a master of timing…..even fully clothed…..

We boarded the Milford Wanderer for our overnight cruise and were immediately served a delicious potato and leek soup.  I am not generally a great fan of cruises….there isn’t a lot to do so they stuff you with food and drink, but this was better than most…  We cruised the fjord, looking at the temporary waterfalls, impressive mountain walls and went under Stirling falls – the largest of the permanent falls.  We then got into a tender for a guided nature cruise closer to shore. There was also an option to jump from the boat and go for a swim…..but that was just too cold.

It is a particularly interesting bit of coastline because the tannin-filled freshwater from the high mountains forms a layer on top of the salty seawater…..fooling deepsea life into thinking it belongs.  It is one of the few places on earth where black coral grows at a level where it can be seen.  There is an underwater observatory in the sound….but it was closed by the time we got there….

Anyway, a lovely dinner and pleasant evening, moored beneath Mitre Mountain – so named because the summit resembles a bishop’s hat….and a good night’s sleep, gently rocking in the sheltered cove…..