Day 15 recap (Wed Feb 23)

[Stef] We pulled into the picnic area last night at 11:30PM. Scott didn’t mention the story of getting into the picnic area (so you know I would love to share it!) Because backpacking and camping are so popular, there are many places to just pull over and sleep. Most people get into their sites and set up by sunset and certainly no later than 10PM. Even on the side of the road, and especially at Holiday Parks. Scott and I always seem to stretch the day as much as we can and it’s usually 10:01 PM and we are still trying to get to a place to stay. So anyway, we pulled into this picnic area and a tent was set up with a car off to the side… so I reminded Scott to quietly park our camper and we’ll go to sleep. Well, since it’s a diesel you can hear us anyway, so I am sure that didn’t help the tent people to sleep. Then we misjudged the tight bend in the drive and had to reverse and inch forward a bunch… but we got in, after taking out a bunch of branches on the trees. Once we got in and shut off the engine, I thought that was going to be the end of the noise, but just for good measure, Scott hit the horn for a nice sharp blast while trying to climb into the back of the campervan. I am sure the sleeping people enjoyed that! Of course, if that didn’t wake them up, the sound of us slamming the doors to get out and in to go to the bathroom sure did. This was all followed by me screaming my head off and trying to “run” around the campervan because there was a moth attacking me (the only insect that really grosses me out), while Scott laughed his head off. And to top it off, getting up at 4AM, turning on our diesel truck and heading out probably wasn’t appreciated either. I think we probably should have gone somewhere else instead of subjecting these poor people to our behavior, but what would we have to laugh about now, right?

Getting up on four and a half hours of sleep is almost easier than a full night of sleep for us. We got on the road by 5:15AM to see Milford Sound. I suggested that we go early, before all the tour buses so that we didn’t have to deal with the traffic on the narrow roads. All the travel books we have read tell us not to go in a campervan, but Scott and I decided we would be okay if we left early and beat the rush. From Te Anau to Milford is a suggested two to three hour drive. Apparently, they don’t go at 5:15AM so they don’t know it takes just over 1.5 hours! They were correct on the narrow roads and steep sides of the mountains. Driving in a fog (literally and figuratively) gave the winding roads and steepness an even scarier effect. I tried to not look and not focus on anything. I don’t think I breathed until we were in the parking lot at Milford. After about 60 Kilometers into the drive, there is a one-way tunnel. This is the infamous Homer Tunnel. It is a three mile tunnel (through a mountain) that drops down into the Milford Valley. It was proposed in 1889, but wasn’t started until 1935 and completed in 1940. It wasn’t until 1954 that the connecting road was completed however. It really felt like we were driving into the center of the earth because of the steep drop and the close rock walls. It wasn’t very well lit either. Scott thinks they are probably the same lights that were installed in the tunnel 60 years ago and I was sure we were going to emerge in China, or I guess whatever would be on the other side of the world from here.

It was worth the drive though. While we were in the Tunnel, the sun was able to emerge a bit more and it gave the area a beautiful, mysterious glow. There wasn’t a person up or a commercial restaurant, hotel or Starbucks in sight. What a marvelous wonder. We made our way to the ticket office, which was still closed, so we went back to the campervan and had a continental breakfast. I took a 20 minute nap and Scott relaxed a bit himself. He woke me just before 8AM and we went back to the ticket office and asked some questions in order to decide on the right trip to take. While there were earlier cruises, we chose the “Nature Cruise” which departed at 10:35AM. We got information about a coffee shop and headed out to relax and wait until our trip.

It was the first time the weather was “bad” for us (not surprising with 300” of annual rainfall – 25 FEET – can you imagine?). It was rainy or misty and the cloud cover was thick but spotty. We could see the scenic Mitre Peak without any trouble though – which we heard is not that common (this place is more often cloudy than anything else). We also were happy to see the mist and rain, as it creates a mysterious aura to the landscape, not to mention gets the water running on the large number of playful waterfalls covering the walls of the Fjords. We were also told that on cooler days, the seals and dolphins are more likely to emerge from down under; on warm days they tend to stay underwater for the cool waters.

Our cruise boat seemed pretty huge, but it was the middle size for tours. It holds about 200 but it probably was a little over half full. The tour is more intimate on this cruise because this boat has a commentator wandering around who is there to spew facts and answer questions. This cruise took two and a half hours and then we spent another half hour at the Underwater Observatory. The cruise goes along the Southern side of the sound and the goes into the Tasman Sea to turn around, and then follows the Northern side of the sound. The captain told us that often the sea is too rough and they turn around before entering the sea (not today though – we got the whole tour!). At the end of the sound is Saint Anne’s Point and it has a lighthouse on it. It didn’t seem like it was big enough to throw any light, but the novelty of it seemed quaint. On the way back, the boat stopped at the Underwater Observatory, dropped off the people who purchased tickets and continued on. (After viewing the observatory, we were taken back by the tour guide on a smaller boat.) The entire experience provided so much information and insight into this unique world. I will do my best to give it justice, but bear with me – most of you know I was far from a science major. I can give you the history, but I may not provide much understanding of the scientific side of this special place.

To answer Scott’s quiz question – A fiord is a steep walled inlet of water formed from the friction with ice during glacial movement; a sound is formed from other geological forces, such as earthquakes. Therefore, Milford Sound is really a fiord and not a sound.

Milford Sound began forming 500 million years ago and 18 million years ago the walls split completely and filled with water from the Tasman Sea. Researchers know that Milford has endured at least three ice ages. Another interesting aspect of Milford is that the Pembroke Fault Line runs through its terrain. This is the cause of the many earthquakes that take place daily. Our guide told us that there is one earthquake every six minutes in the area, but they are rarely strong enough to make an impact on daily life. Based on the time we spent, we must have experienced 80 minor earthquakes, without even knowing it! The guide also said that scientists have discovered that Milford experiences a major earthquake every 200 years BUT it has been 300 years since the last one. Since they are well overdo for a ‘quake, I was anything but excited about the drive back through the tunnel! Our guide said, “Don’t worry on the drive back through the tunnel. I’m sure today is not the day.” A chortle passed through the boat as everyone recalled their morning drive through the eerie tunnel.

The walls of the fiord are very interesting. In some spots walls also contain a variety of minerals that, when oxidized, make vibrant greens, oranges and whites (I believe copper, iron and quartz). They host many waterfalls, such as Fairy Falls. This is an 18 meter high falls that looks more like a mist than a waterfall. When asked why such an odd name, the guide explained that after a late night on the town, depending on what you were doing the night before, you could swear you were seeing gnomes and fairies dance around its base. Another waterfall that the ship’s captain took us to about 10 ft from (yes we got a bit wet) is called Sterling Falls. It is as high as a 50 story building. Many of the falls are unnamed because they appear only after it rains.

The wildlife here is really impressive. This was the original home of the Kakapo. The Kakapo is the world’s largest parrot. It is also flightless and nocturnal. This bird no longer lives there and there are only 81 left in the world. They have since moved to a few of the islands off the mainland here, but an extensive program is in place to restore their population. We also saw some sort of parrot on our way out – it was hanging out near the tunnel, posing for pictures.

Another photogenic creature came into our sights on the trip as well. The ever popular New Zealand Fur Seals. This is not a breeding colony – it contains only juvenile males. They stay here until they are old enough to move on (5-6 years old). A full-sized male grows to a little over 5 feet and around 240 pounds!

Crawfish and Rock Lobster is a big industry in this area. There are many holding pots for these lining a section of the sound. Many of the seafood are exported to Asia and the United States. Makes you wonder if you ever ate one from here, huh?

The observatory could get its own book. It was the highlight for me today. The observatory is floating, as is its associated dock where we arrived. This is to create a completely independent structure and not ruin or alter the fiord or sea floor in anyway. There are no bathrooms and all waste created there is taken back by boat at the end of the day. Once arriving in the lobby we descended a spiral staircase down 30-35 ft below the water’s surface (making it the deepest underwater observatory in the world). At the bottom is a circular room probably no bigger than 15 feet in diameter with windows on all sides. There is a ledge that is completely built up with “Sea Stuff” and it really feels like you are a fish in its natural surroundings. Our guide explained that the existence of a scuba diver, submarine or cage alters the state on an underwater community. This observatory, that is completely built up and covered like a part of the ocean on the outside, allows us to be a witness to the underwater world without altering the natural state of its contents.

The water in the fiord is actually brackish for the first 20 feet because of the rainwater runoff constantly going into the water. The rainwater contains many nutrients from the plant life above, which creates an interesting phenomenon - tea colored water allowing very little light through. This effect makes the creatures you would normally find more often on the ocean floor grow and thrive at about 30 feet under the water’s surface. One of these is black coral. I was excited to be able to see this, as it is a highly protected coral. It is often used for very, very expensive jewelry. As of late, I believe it is illegal to harvest, sell, or even possess it in most countries because of its value and scarcity. The tour guide even stated that most people will never see it, even scuba divers because of its normal growing depth. The water is also filled with fish as far as the eye can see. Many of these fish do not normally live in water this close to the surface, but they do here because of the low amount of light. There are starfish, snails, anemones and all sorts of things… I felt like Nemo looking out at them! Our guide said ONE time in the history of the observatory there was a 15 foot long shark that came into the area to feed on the schools of fish. This was to the shock and amazement of the people inside! It was probably one of the only times in history a shark was observed in its unaltered, natural habitat! Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see anything close to that, but we did get to see the underside of a few starfish as they clung to the windows!

Scott made fun of me a lot during this visit because I stalked the guide and asked him a million questions. I guess I should have just paid more attention in biology! It was really a great experience and I recommend it to anyone who may travel to this part of the world.

After we got back to the dock, we walked to our campervan and headed down the mountain again. The tunnel wasn’t AS SCARY as it was in the dark.

We got back to Te Anau and found ourselves a campervan site in the town. We met a really nice Kiwi in the next site over and she asked us about 300 questions about our travels. She was a close-talker, but we enjoyed her all the same. We decided to walk the town and find something fun to do. The campsite was across the street from Lake Te Anau. It was a beautiful walkway and it had lots of plaques with historical facts. We walked around the shops and looked at all sorts of touristy stuff. When we got bored with that we decided to go to “The Moose Café” for dinner. It seemed like a good mix of locals and backpackers, so we had dinner. It was a decent meal but not outstanding, and we sat outside at a table overlooking the lake. After eating, Scott and I decided to go have a drink in the bar area and watch the locals. And to what to our wondering eyes did appear? A Karaoke contest! It was mostly locals there and everyone seemed to know each other. It was really funny to watch everyone – especially since they ONLY sang country songs or 80’s love ballads. They were all pretty great singers except for a few drunk people who slurred during their solos. It really got interesting when a backpacker came up and sang a Pearl Jam song (90’s rock/grunge band). Seemed that most people in the bar didn’t know if they were gonna clap or not… it wasn’t a love song! Anyway, we laughed til we cried, and then decided sleep was more important than the results of the contest. We walked back and slept, dreaming of another day of exploring – this time it will be in Queenstown.
Click here for more on the fiord at Milford Sound