Magical Milford - with added Kea & Dolphins!

Sunday 1 June

Abby & Jez had never been to Milford Sound and the weather forecast all week had implied that they were unlikely to get a decent day to go while we were at Manapouri, but suddenly Sunday’s forecast came right so we grabbed some discounted tickets via Bookme.co.nz and set off around 9ish for the long drive into Fiordland. It turned out to be the most spectacular day to visit - blue, cloud speckled skies, winter sunshine, a smattering of snow on the peaks and enough rain in previous days to have set off hundreds of waterfalls.

Driving in from Te Anau, I found my notes from the trip with Auntie Liz so we took a few quick detours, mindful that we had to be away for as short a time as possible because Harley was waiting in the Moho. Stopped briefly at the Totara DOC Camp overlooking the Eglington River and again at the wide open expanses of the Eglington Valley where there was still ice on the puddles where the sun had not reached.

Disappointingly, the coffee truck was not at the Mirror Lakes this time, but the snow on the mountains behind and the cottonball puffs of cloud above created the most gorgeous reflections, worthy of a Ravensburger jigsaw!

Stopped for a "posh toilet" stop at Knobs Landing (got there ahead of the few tourist buses on the route, fortunately) and had the whole of Monkey Creek to ourselves to marvel at the epic view. Lake Gunn was looking fabulous in the sunshine and the Hollyford Valley gave us an epic vista.

We were first in the queue at the Homer Tunnel traffic lights and still feeling deprived of any kea sightings - but at the first layby on the Sounds side, Abby spotted two so we pulled in to see them. Another ute pulled in after us and they were slightly concerned when the older kea (dark around the eyes and nostrils) flew up and tried to peck at the rubber around their window and door seals - traditional prey of the modern kea! These cheeky guys have no fear and eyeball you if you try and flap them away. The youngster (yellow around the eyes and nostrils) hopped up on top of our Pajero, swiftly followed by the adult and I have to say their strong beaks and claws made me a bit reticent to get too close and shoo them away!

Seeing them up close in the wild like this, you can't help but marvel at their plumage and how brilliantly they are camouflaged against the green of their homeland terrain - the armour of short brown/grey/green feathers across their chest & head blends with the rocks of the area, and their stunning green wing feathers match the fauna. Only when they take flight do you see a glorious splash of vibrant red and gold on the feathers beneath their wings.

Kea are the naughtiest fat parrots who will steal your food, unpick your shoe laces and try to peel all the rubber off your car… they are real comedy avian hooligans! These characterful birds are native to Aotearoa New Zealand and are a real treat to see in the wild. Abby hopped in the car to avoid their flapping and their claws, and caught the most perfect through the windscreen shot!

From here it was not too far through more woods, along the river valley and up to Deepwater Basin where you can park for free then walk about 1.5 km along to the hub. Coming in this way you also get your first epic views of Mitre Peak, the crowning glory of Milford Sound, so called as it resembles a Bishop's Mitre. We were also fortunate to spot a white heron or Kōtuku wading in the rather grimy waters of the inner bay.

Down at the hub, we pulled on all our warmest clothes (some more than others), scoffed down our picnic lunches, swapped our BookMe vouchers for tickets and hopped on board the Southern Discoveries “Pride of Milford”. Slightly jealous of those who got to sail on the Milford Mariner as she was very beautiful & sleek - but I bet they paid heaps more than us!

We spent the next two hours or so cruising down the Sound, out onto the Tasman Sea and back - passing so many waterfalls and even being visited by a pod of bottlenose dolphins 🐬 . The day was surprisingly sunny and although the wind was quite bitter at times, we spent most of the time out on the deck (once the foredeck opened that became our viewpoint of choice for most of the trip.)

As it had been raining for much of the previous week, the waterfalls were many and bountiful - looking up as we sailed away from close-ups of some falls, you would see the sources of the water cascading off the rocks hundreds of metres above us. With the sun behind us we were also treated to several spray rainbows which were other worldly.

Coming back up the sound on the return leg of the cruise, Stirling Falls or Wai Manu, was absolutely roaring down, drenching us in mist and causing fascinating outward ripples on the sea below.

Cruising out onto the Tasman we got a clearer view of the dark patch of land jutting out from the magnificent cliffs which is actually where one tectonic plate had slipped out of line with another in one of Aotearoa's many major quakes.

Heading back into the Sound, or more correctly, the fjord, we did not get to see any seals basking on the point, but just as I was heading in to get a cup of tea, the captain announced we had a pod of bottlenose dolphins just ahead of us! Two of them cavorted about 10-20m ahead of us while the rest of the pod frolicked over by the cliffs on our starboard side, a little too far away to see clearly - then one of the two nearer the boat came and swam alongside the prow of the boat for a while before gliding under water and away beneath the boat - wow!

As we passed along the Sound towards the start & end of our journey, the clouds settled in overhead creating a stunning vista behind us - a moody display of silhouettes, shadows, rays of light and rippled reflections broken by our churning white wake - magical!

It was a perfect day for this trip and we all loved every moment.

Our final views of this epic landscape from along the path back to the car at Deepwater Basin were so fabulous - what a way to wrap up this visit. And as if that were not a fairy tale ending, driving back home we were harassed by two more cheeky keas at the Homer Tunnel entrance which was brilliant! This fella hopped up on the Pajero and was mortified that we followed the signs and did not feed him, so swiftly moved on to try his luck elsewhere!

Jeremy drove us home and I snoozed much of the way, waking in time to catch the last of golden hour over the fields as we approached Lake Te Anau and again as we stopped at Te Anau Downs for a quick toilet break. Pausing in town to grab a few supplies, the clouds were streaked with salmon pink light - so beautiful...

Harley was delighted to see everyone on our return and we had dinner in the Moho so that he would not feel abandoned again! There was news afoot of big solar flare action for the next two or three nights so we popped out to try and spot an aurora but nothing special was visible over Manapouri - just a gentle wash of green and pink... better luck next time!