Milford Sound

Milford Sound

Every tourist magazine rates Milford Sound as the number one sight to see in New Zealand.  It is in Fiordland National Park (kiwis spell it fiord, and not fjord like we do), which is the largest national park in New Zealand.  Milford Sound is actually not a sound at all – it is a fjord.  A sound is a river valley that has been flooded due to the land sinking below sea level, while a fjord is created by glacial action that leaves u-shaped valleys with steep cliffs.  The British called them all sounds (there are 14 in the park) because at that time they were not familiar with fjords. 

The Maori have a different story as to the origination of Milford Sound.  They believe that Tu-te-raki  (a godly figure) carved out the fjords with his adze, Te Hamo (a woodcarving tool).  He started in the far south and by the time he created Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) farther north, he had perfected his technique.  Piopiotahi was his greatest achievement.  The goddess of the underworld came to see Tu’s handiwork and was so alarmed at the beauty of Piopiotahi she worried that people would not leave once they had seen its beauty.  To encourage humans to leave the area she released the sandfly into Piopiotahi (I love that part – at least it gives the sandfly a purpose, one that they do well! J).

Resting fur seals

The underwater environment in the park is unique – the large amount of rainfall received there drains through the forest and becomes stained with tannins until it is the color of dark tea.  This freshwater does not mix with the seawater of the fjords but sits on top, limiting the amount of light that reaches into the depths.  This restricts almost all of the marine life to the top 130 feet of water.  This band is calm, very clear, and relatively warm.  As a result, light sensitive species that normally live at great depths are found much closer to the surface.  This gives divers the chance to see rare species at relatively shallow depths.

Our boat tour of Milford Sound was over two hours long – the day was misty and the sound/fjord had a mysterious look and feel to it.  The rock faces are so steep that during a heavy rainfall the vegetation will occasionally slide off into the water, leaving a “scar” on the mountainside.  We saw fur seals lounging on rocks, and got up close and personal with a couple of waterfalls (the small boat we were on went practically underneath one!). 

Cheeky kea!

The only other “wildlife” we saw was kea, which we saw while driving out of the area.  We parked at a lookout to view the scenery and were greeted by about four cheeky kea birds (that’s how they’re always described here:  cheeky!).  They hopped onto the roof of our car, as well our side mirror, and immediately started biting the rubber around our windows.  The kea are one of the few alpine parrots in the world.  They are quite large (about 19 inches high), are very curious, and highly intelligent – qualities necessary for their survival at high altitudes.   Kea have been known to use their sharp beaks to cut through the wool on sheep so they can eat the fat from their backs.  This trick almost led to their extinction, as they were relentlessly hunted before receiving protection in 1986 (can't get in the way of the sheep industry!). Contributing to their low numbers is predation of their eggs and chicks by possums.  Hopefully they will be able to make a comeback.

Our encounter with the cheeky kea was a nice way to end our Milford Sound experience!