Milford Sound, NZ: "Trip of a Lifetime"!!

From the Telegraph in London last week, they have this headline: "Milford Sound, New Zealand: Trip of a Lifetime" with many comprehensive details, potentials and options outlined by their travel expert.

This story includes these highlights: "Milford Sound is the poster-boy, the talisman, the icon of New Zealand’s South Island. All the reasons that inspire travellers to make the long journey are concentrated in this out-of-the-way, pristine corner of Fiordland. Scenic roads, well-marked trails and peaceful cruises, combined with the pellucid waters and the temperate rainforests that cling desperately to steep mountains. Even professional photographers cannot adequately capture the majesty of the landscape or convey the cool clarity of the air."

This story notes that the mainly UK readers of Telegraph Travel picked New Zealand as 'their favourite place on the planet in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Lots of people seem to agree, and Milford Sound alone receives about half a million visitors each year."

While there last year, we got a good, quick overview sampling from Milford Sound, seeing the nearby rainforest, doing the 73-mile route to Te Anau, rated as one of the highest and most scenic highways in New Zealand. Plus, we had our fun time in and around Queenstown, etc. It's definitely worth doing much more in this area. Lots of ideas are offered in this article. Weather can definitely be a gamble and variable.

This story has a number of pictures and other helpful details, especially if you can spend added time here, above just a sail through. Here are some other interesting items listed: "Rudyard Kipling called Milford Sound the "Eighth Wonder of the World". The southern summer is our winter. Most people arrive in the peak months of January and February. December and March-April are good options for decent weather and fewer people. Milford Sound receives an average yearly rainfall of approximately 300 inches. The weather is famous for its ability to deteriorate – or improve – inside a very short period of time. Maori used the Milford Track route to collect pounamu – greenstone – an indigenous jade used in tools and jewellery, and passed on from generation to generation."

Below are just a few of my highlight pictures from our experiences here. Many more on the full live/blog connected below.

Your experiences in Milford Sound? Share more here!!

Full story at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/australiaandpacific/newzealand/11918573/Milford-Sound-New-Zealand-how-to-visit-cruises-and-the-best-tours.html

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 123,579 views for this posting.

Going into Milford Sound on our ship, here is the view from our balcony on the tenth floor. We did not like the overcast skies and rain, but it added to the “drama” with the huge number of waterfalls in this area. In the second picture, my wife is checking out this great sights from our balcony early this morning.:

Our first stop after getting off of the Solstice and boarding our bus was a major rainforest areas in the Fiordlands National Park. Amazing site and stop!! Yes, there was some rain that morning. Here are some of the ferns, moss, etc., that grow fast here given the massive amount of rain received in this region. But, here are some facts to consider. In the Milford Sound area, they get an average of 23 feet (that's right FEET) of rain each year. At times, it might go as high as 46' yearly. That means most ever day gets some rain as the churning Tasman sea air loaded with moisture hits these South Island mountains. By sharp contrast, just 25 miles away (across the mountains), Queenstown averages only 30 inches of rain annually. Big difference!!:

Here is a bird that we encountered at a dramatic mountain/waterfall setting on the other side of the key tunnel used to access this remote area. The bird is a Kea or mountain parrot. These bird can be playful, intelligent and rather creative/damaging!! Second is another view of the mountain, forest and waterfall "drama" that is so normal in this NZ region.:

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I have to agree., the Milford sounds in NZ is certainly one of the countries most amazing beauty spots. Even as a Kiwi, it took me by surprise and I wrote about it here if anyone wants to get an idea of what you see while on a cruise ship.

http://roscoesseafever.blogspot.co.nz/2013/09/adventures-into-shadowland-milford.html

All I can say is "come on down, you don't know what you're missing"...

Roscoe