Milford Sound- January 17

This morning we sailed into Milford Sound on the South Island in New Zealand. The ship's pilot got aboard about 7:00AM in very rough waters. A specially trained pilot is needed anytime we enter port or other narrow and difficult places to navigate. The sky was gray and foggy and the rain fell from time to time. 

Milford Sound is 15 kilometers in from the Tasman Sea and is bounded by tall, sheer rock cliffs which are part of  the Southern Alps. Rudyard Kipling called this "the 8th Natural Wonder of the World." This area is nestled in the World Heritage site listed as Fjordland National Park.  Situated within Fjordland are Browne Falls and Sutherland Falls, which rank among the tallest in the world. 

We sailed by a waterfall that had a huge volume of water coming down. Behind it was the mountain called The Elephant because it looks like an elephant resting by the side of the river. The peak is 4977 ft high. There is also one called The Lion Mountain but it was covered with fog. A tender/lifeboat from the ship was lowered and took the professional photographer out to make some photos. This is this ships maiden voyage- first time- in this area so even the crew is impressed and watching.

We saw waterfalls that fell from the top of the tall peaks down to the water below. What a sight to behold!

This is the number one attraction in New Zealand. We learned from the lecturer that there are also Coral Reefs under glaciers and fjords. They have the usual kinds of sealife as the Coral Reefs we've seen in other places. 

The scenery was magnificent- even in the mist. Scenes from The Lord of the Rings" Fellowship of the Rings was filmed in Milford Sound. You could see why this was the choice of the movie producers. 

If the weather clear- which seems unlikely- the captain has said we will go into another fjord.

The wonders of the world are just unbelievable.