Day 310: November 6th – The Fiordlands

AM low 40s, sunny, warming to the 60s

       A chilly departure from our hotel in Te Anau as we head to the Fiordlands National Park and Milford Sound.  This area receives more than 21 feet of rainfall per year and is at a latitude which generally means chilly temperatures.  So, we dress accordingly and prepare to be ready for whatever Mother Nature doles out.

       Much to our delight, the sun is shining brightly and the winds have abated.  Our journey down to the sound is nothing short of spectacular.  Bright azure skies, calm winds, and temperatures which rapidly rise up into the 60s make for a picture perfect day in early November as we head to the fiords.  The road to Milford Sound winds through the countryside between towering alpine peaks and along broad glacial flood plains.  Harriers, oystercatchers, Paradise ducks, Chaffinches, and Tuis escort us through the valleys and up into the mountains.  At one stop, we come across New Zealand scaup swimming in a slow moving glacial stream adjacent to the road.

        We continue along the valley floor before ascending the alpine highway where we make frequent stops to photograph the horns, arêtes, and cirques of the mountain glaciers.  Landslides and avalanches are common sights along this serpentine roadway and make for a constantly changing landscape.

       Our driver Ian mentions that we should find the only alpine parrots found in the entire world, the Kea.  The mischievous bird is known for landing on parked cars and making quick work of the rubber gaskets around windshields.  They will steal anything that is not secured to the vehicle and basically have no fear of humans  That certainly makes photographing these parrots quite easy providing you can keep them off your equipment.

       We desend  down the mountain divide through a lengthy tunnel hewn through solid rock by human hands wielding picks and sledges.  We travel the long winding trail to Milford Sound and then cruise through the fiords all the way to the Tasman sea.  We encounter a pod of young sea lions basking along the walls of the sound,

 and sight a little  penguin scampering up the hillside as our boat approached,

       Returning back to Te Anau, we make a quick trip over to the wildlife preserve where the previously thought to be extinct Takahe can be found, albeit in a cage on display.  I normally  don’t even bother to photograph captive birds, but seeing as how there are as few as 120 wild birds in existence today, I figured I’d better capture the image of this bird while I could, regardless of the circumstances.

       Tomorrow, we begin our trek north once again and will be in Queentown for the next two days before we begin our journey back to the homeland.  As long as the trp has been, it seems as though we’ve just begun.  Where does the time go?  And yet, as enjoyable as this three weeks has been, it is finally time to start thinking about friends and family back home.  Still, we have a couple of more days to continue our visit of the land down under.  Let’s make the most of it!