Tuesday, Day 5

Because of the continuing threat of inclement weather, we decided to move our day trip to Milford Sound from Wednesday to today.  When we awoke we had quite a surprise waiting for us.  Yes that is snow on the mountain peaks above Queenstown.  We were told that this is highly unusual for this time of year.

We decided that since all six of us cannot fit in the same car, that rather than drive both cars to the Sound, we would take a charter tour bus.  We are so glad we did.  The extra color commentary provided was well worth the slight difference it would have cost us to drive, and we were not faced with the drive home after a long day.  So at 7:25 AM we loaded onto our coach and are off.

By road, Milford Sound is 307 km from Queenstown(about four hours drive), with most of the tour buses to the Sound departing from Queenstown. Some tourists also arrive from the smaller tourism centre of Te Anau, 121 km away. There are also scenic flights by light aircraft and helicopter tours to and from Milford Sound Airport. The drive to Milford Sound itself passes through unspoiled mountain landscapes before entering the 1.2 km (.75 miles) Homer Tunnel which emerges into rain-forest-carpeted canyons that descend to the sound. The winding mountain road, while of high standards, is very prone to avalanches and closures during the winter half of the year.  The past few days were particularly wet, so mudslides, slips as they call them here, were very much a factor.  In fact only two hours after we cleared the tunnel on the way home, the road was closed and did not reopen for several days.  If I didn't mention it before, this is the ONLY road in or out.

One of our first stops on the way was Mirror Lake.  We thought it was funny how they posted the sign as a mirror image so you could read it in the crystal clear water of the lake.

This beautiful field of Lupens was in full flower.  Lupens are a non-native plant brought to New Zealand by settlers as flowers for their gardens.  They escaped into the wild and proliferated to the extent they are now considered a nuisance weed.  Close by here we stopped to fill our water bottles from a glacier fed stream.  Amazing how pure water tastes.

The scenery is so spectacular along the road.

Now we meet one of the more mischievous characters around.  The Kea, or Mountain Parrot.  This one was posing and showing off for everyone on the bus.  What a ham!

We stopped to await our turn at going through the Homer Tunnel.  The cycle take 15 minutes or so.  This tunnel, as well as the road, was built by people who worked for what we would call the WPA during the depression.  They and their families lived out here in this wilderness for years.  Talk about hearty souls!

 
Yes, this is a one lane curved tunnel, think driving through a large culvert.  The tunnel was built basically by hand, no large machinery was ever used.  If you don't stay centered, it will conveniently grind part of the roof off of your vehicle.

Because of all of the recent rain, everywhere you looked the cliffs were covered with these enormously long waterfalls.

Today we got a rare glimpse of Mt. Tutoko.  Apparently she is normally shrouded in clouds.

Finally, four hours after leaving Queenstown, we arrived.  With Mitre Peak in the background, we prepare for our boat tour of the Milford Sound.  Grammy and the two grandkids are ready to go!

I'm going to break this now and pick up with the boat tour on a second post.