YOLO New Zealand Day 16 @ Milford Sound

Described by Rudyard Kipling as the eighth wonder of the world, Milford Sound was craved by glaciers during the ice-age. This place is best viewed by cruise whereas the adventurous types might also like to head out for sea kayaking, diving of flight-seeing.

We departed from Queestown early to catch our boat cruise at 3pm. The scenery along the way was breathtaking as usual. Our first visit along the way to Milford Sound is a picturesque spot, Mirror Lakes. 

Our coach rooftop for us to see the pretty sights of forest, rocks and waterfall 

Mirror Lakes are a set of lakes lying north of lake Te Anau and are about halfway to Milford Sound. As suggested by its name, I was told that on a clear cloudless day, the lakes reflected like a mirror such that Earl Mountain can be seen reflected on it. A wooden viewing platform and short walking track run along the lakes, one of which has a deliberately mirrored sign mounted just above the water's surface. Alas for us, the day was cloudy with dim sunlight and hence we weren't able to see the clear reflection of the Mirror Lakes. 

Snow sighted on the mountain! Temperature was dropping! Blurrr....

We then ventured to the nearby streams where the guide encouraged us to have a taste of the glacier water. Obligingly, we scoped the water from the streams with our hands and drank the glacier water. How refreshing was that! Definitely pure and no chemical taste!

As we traveled into the Fjordland, the temperature started to drop lower and we  could vaguely hear the sound of the miniature waterfalls from these rocks. The road leading to the Milford Sound was ridiculously scenic and my eyes sparkled in anticipation. We made a stop at this popular place right next to the State Highland on route to Milford Sound. The clouds were low and added a mystical feel to the surrounding. 

Finally, we arrived at Milford Sound to board our boat. The boat was quite big and there were restaurant inside to serve passengers who have pre-booked their lunch sets. As we did not pre-book for the lunch sets, we were given a packet of potato chips, fruit juice, sandwich and an apple for lunch. 

As the boat sailed off, we quickly made our way up to the viewing deck and chopped a spot for ourselves. As expected, there was light rain and absolutely no bright sunshine. I was shivering as the light rain drizzle on us. Temperature was way too low such that the mists had formed and the clouds were hanging low before us. As we cruised through the fjord in the cold, I started to notice a huge waterfall on the side of one of the mountains. In fact there were many more as we cruised forward. 

Everything in the Milford Sound seems over sized and bundled with the black water, howling wind, light rain, mist and fog ahead of us, it was like cruising through a set from the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean.

The entire journey remains somewhat cloudy when the rain then miraculously stopped and the sun peeped from the clouds! Yay, finally came the sunlight and instantly, we saw wild dolphins again, plenty of them. It's really a joy to see these creatures. Slowly the sea otters also appeared, lazed by the rocks as if they were suntanning. 

The once blackish water also turned turquoise under the sunlight. The captain stopped at one of the waterfall and plunged the ferry's front under a waterfall. We were totally soaked from the falling water but it was hell of a fun!

Two hours was more than enough to appreciate the sight of the Milford Sound on a cruise and I gotta say that this is the most scenic cruise that I've taken in life.  The Milford Sound is truly a nature's masterpiece.