After camping at Mossburn Country Farm, we continued to Te Anau … The Gateway to Fiordland.
Yet another lake here, the largest on the South Island, and a reminder that the last surviving takahe (that we had seen on Tiritiri Mantangi) had been found in the mountains here.
We started the 120km drive to Milford Sound with several stops along the way for photos, lunch and a very mossy walk taking in the Eglinton Valley …
… Gunn Lake …
… and Mirror Lake.
We drove through the Homer Tunnel, at 1270m the highest point on the route, 1.2km of single lane tunnel with a 1 in 10 gradient … down in the direction we were going!
We were soon in Milford Sound, which isn’t actually a sound which is a drowned river valley, but a fjord which is formed by a glacier. The community comprises a harbour for tourist boats, an airstrip, a large car park, one cafe/bar/restaurant, a couple of motels and a lodge with camping where we stayed.
We walked along the foreshore where the view is dominated by the iconic pinnacle of Mitre Peak at 1692m.
Next morning we took a boat for a cruise down the fjord to the sea and back.
We were lucky to have a dry morning, and sat at the front of the boat, marvelling at the height of the mountains soaring above us, with precariously perched trees and plants clinging to the rock. We saw seals …
… The Lady Bowen and Stirling Falls …
… and The Queen Mary 2 who was visiting.
Meanwhile we happily chatted and swapped travel takes with Michael and Margaret from Bedford.
We left Milford Sound, returned through the Homer Tunnel … not so scary going uphill … and continued to Marian Corner where we turned off into the Hollyford Valley. There was a sign to Lake Marian, but we only went as far as the lookout over the rapids as the lake was, accordingly to the book, a strenuous hike away, 3 hours return!
We continued down 7kms of gravel road to Gunns Camp, originally built as a public works camp in the 1930s for workers building a road to the West Coast, of which only 16kms were built before WW2 stopped work. The buildings were bought in the 1950s by Davey Gunn who started tramping and riding holidays, putting up visitors in the old workers buildings … and it has barely changed, with limited power from a generator and no internet or phone coverage and the water heated by a wood burner!
With so much rainfall, there are lots of rivers requiring lots of bridges, and most, even on the main highways, are just one lane bridges where one direction has to give way. Each of the rivers or creeks is also named, however small or out of the way, but I reckon chap who named the ones here had a bit of a grave predisposition …
Next day, we headed back to Te Anau, with just one surprise up my sleeve. We pulled over at the Earl Mountain Trails, and Chris looked a bit worried when he saw the sign at the car park, thinking I had made a big mistake, but I insisted we set off!
The path was quite tricky, then we saw the next sign!
A little free extreme entertainment NZ style, no safety rope … certainly worth the detour!
Back in Te Anau, having stopped for pies for lunch, our Fiordland experience was at an end.
Next stop … Southlands!
Off Travelling Together 