The wondrous Milford Sound

Milford Sound is the jewel of Fiordland National Park and was famously described by Rudyard Kipling as the ‘eighth wonder of the world’, writes Jayanthi Chandrasekaran

Seals can often be seen basking in the sun near Mitre Peak. PHOTOS BY AUTHOR

When a glacier carves out a deep trench in the rock as it inches towards the sea over several thousand years, divine magic happens. As the freshwater meets the sea in a long narrow inlet between steep cliffs, a fjord is formed. One such fjord is Milford Sound, situated in the south island of New Zealand nestled in the heart of Fiordland National Park. When you stand on the pristine shores of this fjord you wonder if God outdid himself here and meant this place to be an antidote for the tired soul. Indeed, it inspired Rudyard Kipling to describe Milford Sound as “the eighth wonder of the world”.

This scenic fjord at one end of the earth, considered the youngest of all, has been carved by a glacier 20,000 years ago. The waters from the Tasman Sea meet the fresh waters in the narrow inlet, 16 km long, surrounded by soaring rugged cliffs. For the visitors of South Island, it’s almost a rite of passage to visit Milford Sound to admire its stunning waterfalls, docile wildlife, and imposing mountain scenery. Contrary to its name, Milford Sound is actually not a sound but a fjord. The word “sound” is used to describe a gorge or valley formed by river erosion and not glacial erosion, but the name Milford Sound stuck.

From our base in Christchurch, the best option to reach Milford Sound is via Queenstown. As the distance between Christchurch and Queenstown is about 500 km, we reached the latter by air. Queenstown is a small, picturesque town overlooking Lake Wakatipu boasting turquoise waters and surrounded by the mountain range aptly named ‘Remarkables’. It is remarkable in that although it’s home to only 18,000 permanent residents, it receives almost two million visitors per year and is well known for its adventure sports from bungee jumping, skiing, and hiking to ziplining.

After spending a couple of days in Queenstown, we decided to explore the famous fjord. The distance of about 300 km from Queenstown to Milford Sound is covered by bus in 4.5 hours through the stunning alpine drive. In two hours we reach a midway point called Te Anau and after that, the real adventure begins with several stops at some mind-boggling locations. The first stop after Te Anau on our way to Milford Sound is Eglinton Valley, once filled with giant glaciers that carved their way through the thick rock to create the picturesque valley.

The next stop is the beautiful Mirror Lakes, accessed through a boardwalk that winds its way along the edge of the lakes. Mirror Lakes are small lakes that, on a calm day, give off perfect reflections of the Earl Mountains that lay behind them. Spellbound, we drink in the beauty of the vegetation above and below the waters. Next, we alight at Monkey Creek, which is a glacier-fed spring and the water is so pure that one can drink it right from the spring. Not only did we quench our thirst with this rare treat but also witnessed many water bottles getting filled here for later use. Then the bus passes through Homer tunnel carved out of granite rocks to reach yet another stunning location before reaching Milford Sound. It’s ‘the hotspot for waterfalls’, a collection of some million threads of waterfalls coming down from the snow-capped cliffs on the smooth rock surface which makes you feel that two eyes are not enough to drink in this spectacle of Nature.

The Cruise begins at the jetty of Milford Sound and takes us along the length of the fjord until we poke our nose out into the Tasman Sea before turning around and back to the starting point in about 1.5 hours. It starts with a view of the magnificent Lady Bowen waterfalls on the right side as soon as we depart. Then we pass by Sindbad gully, a u-shaped valley at the base of Mitre Peak which is home to many Native species like kiwi and mohua. As we pass the iconic Mitre Peak towering over 1600m, some seals come into view sunning themselves on a rock. The boat passes the fairy falls and the Bridal veil falls so close that we all feel the water spray on our faces. The boat turns back at Anita Bay where one gets a view of the Tasman Sea. On the way back, Stirling Falls with its powerful gushing waters is a photographer’s delight. We were lucky to spot a few dolphins here. The mountain range at this point looks like a lion crouching, hence known as Lion Mountain. Harrison Cove and a second viewing of Lady Bowen’s Falls complete the cruise. The emerald greenery and the spectacular cascades of Milford Sound have been immortalised in films like The Lord of the Rings, X-men Wolverine and Mission Impossible 6.