Fiordland National Park is one of the wettest places in the world, with Milford Sound averaging more than 6 metres of rain a year – in fact about 200 days per year are wet.
Consequently, on the day we were to go from Te Anau to Milford Sound I jumped out of bed to check the weather. Yes, there was definitely some sun there.
So far so good. You could see the sun shining on St Bernard’s Church and the trees outside our window.
As it happened we could not have asked for a more glorious day.
Our trusty guide book told us that it would take an hour and a half to drive to Milford Sound from Te Anau. We gave ourselves an extra half hour and set off. As the road left Te Anau, there was a sign advising to allow TWO HOURS to get to Milford Sound, so for the first part of the trip, Pat drove like Fangio along the fairly straight road beside Lake Te Anau, hoping to make up some time.
Then, the road entered the mountains, where the route is described as “the best scenery you will ever see on four wheels.”
Mountains, glaciers, rivers, lakes, tunnels and autumn leaves – it was all there, with a stunning blue sky as well.
However, so as not to miss our 11am cruise, we had to hurtle past it all, and hope that the sun would still be shining on our way back (it was!)
We were lucky to score a green light at the Homer Tunnel. If you just miss that, it’s a 15 minute wait.
We had to hunt around for a car park when we arrived at Milford Sound. Then we found it was a ten minute walk to the wharf. It didn’t help that we started off going the wrong way.
We finally flung ourselves onto the right boat, with minutes to spare. All that effort had been worth while.
Even before we left the wharf, the views were amazing, with Mitre Peak welcoming us to Milford Sound, saying “Well done!”
“The Great Drive” 14th April 2012.
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