Milford Sound

The next stop was Milford Sound. The road to there is one of the most scenic ones. The sign here says all, you will stop often and its remote, only fuel for emergency.



The snow here is glacier snow. The highest mountain, Mt. Cook is 3700m high.



You are passing different landscapes. Nice plains, which are really dry, because they are behind the mountains:



Beautifull rivers



And nice lakes with funny signs



And you have to drive through a one-way tunnel which is at the top of a pass. If have to wait up to 15mins if the other side has green light ;-)


Which is not bad, because you can get out and look around.
The scenery is really impressive, here I heard and saw my first kea, the only alpine parrot.



I arrived late at Milford Sound, too late for a cruise but it has enought light for a nice twilight pic.


And so does it look like with light


or so:




At the next morning I got out of my car and saw some eploring keas at the car park. Very funny birds, one was rolling over the ground.



Another one discovered a chips bag which it emptied. These birds are very intelligent. They could be very disruptive for cars as they crack antennas and can destroy the windscreen isolation.



For the morning I booked a half day kanu tour, a nice way to explore the sound.



We paddled very close to some relaxing seals, which warmed up in the sun.



In the afternoon I did a cruise to see the full sound.



The size of the mountains can only be imagined with the ships in front of. These are big ships, with up to 300 passengers.



I was totally relaxed due to the impressions...