After the Kepler Track, we relaxed for a few days in Te Anau – did a lot of laundry, some laying by the lake (it actually got hot one day!), and some fishing. Eric caught a few rainbow trout which he was pretty excited about.
Then we headed up to Milford Sound. The morning we left it was pouring and so foggy we could not see anything. We had a feeling there were amazing sights around us, and were dreading more hiking in the rain. But it cleared midday and we started to see all of the waterfalls pouring down the mountains all around us. It was incredible!!
That afternoon we went on a short hike to Key Summit, off of the Routeburn Track, and had some good views of the surrounding mountains.
As the sky cleared, most of the waterfalls dried up – they are only there during the rains. The rest of our time in Milford was completely sunny (who would have guessed that??) so we were glad we got to see some of the famous waterfalls on the drive in. We stopped down at Milford Sound that night for dinner at the one restaurant, and took in the views of the sound and Mitre Peak, which is in almost every postcard of picture of Milford Sound.
The next morning we went on a kayaking trip. They took us out in a water taxi about 10km and we spent a leisurely 5 hrs paddling back through the sound. Our guide said they had not seen the sun in over 14 days in Milford, so even he was really excited for the trip. It was amazing how steeply the mountains rose up on all sides – some of the cliffs were 800m straight up. Mitre Peak is over 1600m high. The views in every direction were stunning, and I am not sure how I found time for any paddling with all of the pictures I was taking. We also saw lots of seals sunning on the rocks and playing in the water, and we could kayak almost right up to them.
To give you some scale, here is one of our fellow kayakers next to some of the cliffs:
We paddled right in the spray at Stirling Falls, one of the waterfalls along the trip. We also stopped on a sandy beach for a snack and a quick hike through the forest to Bowen Falls. Here’s Eric and I on the beach in our stylish kayaking gear:
Later that afternoon we did a quick walk along the shore. The tide varies a lot, and at low tide you can walk out several hundred meters.
We were bummed to leave the next day. It is definitely the most beautiful and dramatic 2 hr drive I have ever done, and I look forward to coming back and doing all of the side hikes that I missed this time around. Catlins post coming soon!
Then we headed up to Milford Sound. The morning we left it was pouring and so foggy we could not see anything. We had a feeling there were amazing sights around us, and were dreading more hiking in the rain. But it cleared midday and we started to see all of the waterfalls pouring down the mountains all around us. It was incredible!!
That afternoon we went on a short hike to Key Summit, off of the Routeburn Track, and had some good views of the surrounding mountains.
As the sky cleared, most of the waterfalls dried up – they are only there during the rains. The rest of our time in Milford was completely sunny (who would have guessed that??) so we were glad we got to see some of the famous waterfalls on the drive in. We stopped down at Milford Sound that night for dinner at the one restaurant, and took in the views of the sound and Mitre Peak, which is in almost every postcard of picture of Milford Sound.
The next morning we went on a kayaking trip. They took us out in a water taxi about 10km and we spent a leisurely 5 hrs paddling back through the sound. Our guide said they had not seen the sun in over 14 days in Milford, so even he was really excited for the trip. It was amazing how steeply the mountains rose up on all sides – some of the cliffs were 800m straight up. Mitre Peak is over 1600m high. The views in every direction were stunning, and I am not sure how I found time for any paddling with all of the pictures I was taking. We also saw lots of seals sunning on the rocks and playing in the water, and we could kayak almost right up to them.
To give you some scale, here is one of our fellow kayakers next to some of the cliffs:
We paddled right in the spray at Stirling Falls, one of the waterfalls along the trip. We also stopped on a sandy beach for a snack and a quick hike through the forest to Bowen Falls. Here’s Eric and I on the beach in our stylish kayaking gear:
Later that afternoon we did a quick walk along the shore. The tide varies a lot, and at low tide you can walk out several hundred meters.
We were bummed to leave the next day. It is definitely the most beautiful and dramatic 2 hr drive I have ever done, and I look forward to coming back and doing all of the side hikes that I missed this time around. Catlins post coming soon!
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