Day 11: Milford Sound - Queenstown
Milford Sound in the morning…
Waking before sunrise, I went outside to watch the light change from the deck of the Mariner. Cold and rain couldn’t drive me inside, I was like a little kid not wanting to miss a thing. We moored overnight in the shadow of Mitre Peak (Māori Rahotu) which is an iconic mountain of New Zealand and one of the most photographed peaks in the country. With the clouds and rain, I waited patiently for it to show it’s famous peak.
Engines started up at 7am and we motored through the fiords to head into the Tasman Sea. On the way, we saw yet another penguin swimming and preening. On the way back we saw a pod of bottle nose dolphins, Milford Sound is the furthest southern point they can be found. They are very playful although they had young so didn’t want to play too close to the boat. The seals were still on their rock, and they were quite happy to have us come close and enjoy their show. See…how could I go inside as I just didn’t want to miss a minute of it all.
The weather changed frequently although cold, windy, and wet was the common denominator. Blue skies showed up occasionally. With a mean annual rainfall of 6,412 mm (252 in) each year, Milford Sound is known as the wettest inhabited place in New Zealand and one of the wettest in the world. The cruise was a brilliant way to experience the fiords, I am so happy that I gave myself the opportunity to spend the night as the morning was quite magical.
The drive back to Queenstown was again filled with scenic stops and small hikes.
New Zealand’s native parrot, the Kea
At one of these stops I had my first close encounter with a Kea, New Zealand's native parrot and the only alpine parrot there is. Kea’s are considered the smartest of all birds, and they are indeed bold, cheeky, and quite brilliant. There was a recent news report of scientists who were studying their behavior and they observed them making tools to use with purpose, and then adjusting and reshaping the tools on the spot to fit into a box they were trying to open. They will work in groups together to solve mysteries, as they are very curious and will destroy just about anything to figure out how it works. These pictures show how well they fit into their rain forrest surroundings.
