Milford Sound

Panorama of Milford Sound looking northwest from the township. Mitre Peak (centre) rises 1,692 metres above the sound.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound (Piopiotahi in Māori) is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey (the 2008 Travelers' Choice Destinations Awards by TripAdvisor) ^[1][2] and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination.^[3] Rudyard Kipling had previously called it the eighth Wonder of the World.^[4]

Etymology

Milford Sound is named after Milford Haven in Wales, while the Cleddau River which flows into the sound is also named for its Welsh namesake. The Māori named the sound Piopiotahi after the thrush-like piopio bird, now extinct. Piopiotahi means "a single piopio", harking back to the legend of Māui trying to win immortality for mankind - when Maui died in the attempt, a piopio was said to have flown here in mourning.^[5]

Geography

Milford Sound runs 15 kilometres inland from the Tasman Sea at Dale Point - the mouth of the fiord - and is surrounded by sheer rock faces that rise 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) or more on either side. Among the peaks are The Elephant at 1,517 metres (4,977 ft), said to resemble an elephant's head,^[6] and The Lion, 1,302 metres (4,272 ft), in the shape of a crouching lion.^[7] Lush rain forests cling precariously to these cliffs, while seals, penguins, and dolphins frequent the waters and whales can be seen sometimes.

Milford Sound sports two permanent waterfalls all year round, Lady Bowen Falls and Stirling Falls.^[8] After heavy rain however, many hundreds of temporary waterfalls can be seen running down the steep sided rock faces that line the fiord. They are fed by rain water drenched moss and will last a few days at most once the rain stops.

Climate

With a mean annual rainfall of 6,813 mm (268 in) on 182 days a year,^[9] a high level even for the West Coast, Milford Sound is known as the wettest inhabited place in New Zealand and one of the wettest in the world. Rainfall can reach 250 mm (10 in) during a span of 24 hours.^[10] The rainfall creates dozens of temporary waterfalls (as well as a number of major, more permanent ones) cascading down the cliff faces, some reaching a thousand metres in length. Smaller falls from such heights may never reach the bottom of the sound, drifting away in the wind.

Accumulated rainwater can, at times, cause portions of the rain forest to lose their grip on the sheer cliff faces, resulting in tree avalanches into the sound. The regrowth of the rain forest after these avalanches can be seen in several locations along the sound.

Climate data for Milford Sound Airport
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	19.0 (66.2)	19.5 (67.1)	18.0 (64.4)	15.6 (60.1)	12.3 (54.1)	9.5 (49.1)	9.1 (48.4)	11.2 (52.2)	13.1 (55.6)	14.4 (57.9)	16.0 (60.8)	17.6 (63.7)	14.61 (58.29)
Daily mean °C (°F)	14.7 (58.5)	14.9 (58.8)	13.5 (56.3)	11.2 (52.2)	8.3 (46.9)	5.7 (42.3)	5.2 (41.4)	6.7 (44.1)	8.5 (47.3)	10.1 (50.2)	11.7 (53.1)	13.4 (56.1)	10.33 (50.59)
Average low °C (°F)	10.4 (50.7)	10.4 (50.7)	8.9 (48.0)	6.8 (44.2)	4.2 (39.6)	1.9 (35.4)	1.3 (34.3)	2.2 (36.0)	3.9 (39.0)	5.8 (42.4)	7.4 (45.3)	9.3 (48.7)	6.04 (42.88)
Rainfall mm (inches)	722.3 (28.437)	503.6 (19.827)	642.9 (25.311)	593.4 (23.362)	636.2 (25.047)	437.6 (17.228)	425.2 (16.74)	427.3 (16.823)	516.7 (20.343)	678.7 (26.72)	521.5 (20.531)	656.0 (25.827)	6,761.4 (266.197)
Source: NIWA Climate Data (1971-2000)[11]

History

The 155m Stirling Falls were named after the captain of the HMS Cleo.

Milford Sound was initially overlooked by European explorers, because its narrow entry did not appear to lead into such large interior bays. Sailing ship captains such as James Cook, who bypassed Milford Sound on his journeys for just this reason, also feared venturing too close to the steep mountainsides, afraid that wind conditions would prevent escape (this refers to Doubtful Sound, so named as Cook thought it doubtful he would escape if he sailed in).^{[citation needed]}

The fjord was a playground for local Maori who had acquired a large amount of local marine knowledge including tidal patterns and fish feeding patterns over generations prior to european arrival. The fjord remained undiscovered by Europeans until a sealer by the name of Captain John Grono discovered it in around 1812 and named it Milford Haven after his homeland in Wales. Captain John Lort Stokes later renamed Milford Haven as Milford Sound.^[12]

While Fiordland as such remained one of the least-explored areas of New Zealand up to the 20th century, Milford Sound's natural beauty soon attracted national and international renown, and led to the discovery of the Mackinnon Pass in 1888, soon to become a part of the new Milford Track, an early walking tourism trail. In the same year, the low watershed saddle between the Hollyford River and the Cleddau River was discovered, where the Homer Tunnel was to be developed about sixty years later to provide road access.^[13]

As of the 2006 census, just 120 people lived in Milford Sound,^[14] most of them working in tourism or conservation.

Tourism

Cliffs and waterfalls after dry spell, with a two-storey tour boat providing relative size.

Mitre Peak, towering over Milford Sound.

Overview

The beauty of this landscape draws thousands of visitors each day, with between 550,000 and 1 million visitors in total per year.^[14][15] This makes the sound one of New Zealand's most-visited tourist spots, and also the most famous New Zealand tourist destination,^[3] even with its remote location and the long journey from the nearest population centres. Almost all tourists going to the sound also take one of the boat tours which usually last between 1–2 hours. They are offered by several companies, departing from the Milford Sound Visitors' Centre. There is also the option of extended overnight cruises on Milford Sound.

Tramping, canoeing and some other water sports are also possible. A small number of companies also provide overnight boat trips. There is otherwise only limited accommodation at the sound, and only a very small percentage of tourists stay more than the day.

An underwater tourist observatory found in one of the bays of the sound provides viewing of black coral, usually only found in much deeper waters. A dark surface layer of fresh water, stained by tannins from the surrounding forest, allows the corals to grow close to the surface here.^[16]

In rainy and stormy days tourists can admire the play of the wind with the numerous waterfalls in Milford Sound. When meeting the cliff face the powerful wind often goes upward and waterfalls with a vertical drop get caught by wind, causing the water to go upwards.

Transport

Main article: Transport in Milford Sound

By road, Milford Sound is 307 km from Queenstown and 279 km from Invercargill (about four hours' drive),^[17] with most of the tour buses to the sound departing from Queenstown. Some tourists also arrive from the smaller tourism centre of Te Anau, 121 km away. There are also scenic flights by light aircraft and helicopter tours to and from Milford Sound Airport. The drive to Milford Sound itself passes through unspoiled mountain landscapes before entering the 1.2 km Homer Tunnel which emerges into rain-forest-carpeted canyons that descend to the sound. The winding mountain road, while of high standards, is very prone to avalanches and closures during the winter half of the year.

The long distance to the sound means that tourist operators from Queenstown all depart very early in the day, arriving back only late in the evening. This ensures that most tourists visit Milford Sound within a few hours around midday, leading to some congestion on the roads and at the tourist facilities during the main season. The peak-time demand is also the reason for the large number of tour boats active in the sound at much the same time.^[15]

Over the years, various options of short-cutting the distance to Milford Sound from Queenstown have been mooted, including a gondola route, a new tunnel from Queenstown, or a monorail from near Lake Wakatipu to Te Anau Downs. All would reduce the current round-trip duration (which has to travel via Te Anau), thus allowing tourism to be spread out over more of the day. While a gondola is considered to be out of the running after the DOC refused it for environmental reasons, the two other options are aiming to start consenting processes in 2007.^[15]

Miscellaneous

On 8 February 2004 a spill of 13,000 litres of diesel fuel was discovered, resulting in a 2-kilometre oil spill which closed the sound for two days while intensive cleanup activities were completed. Apparently a hose was used to displace the fuel from the tanks of one of the tour vessels, and various government officials claimed it appeared to be an act of ecoterrorism motivated by rising numbers of tourists to the park,^[18] though more details did not become known. The spill has been removed and damage to the park's wildlife appears to have been minimal.

Panorama of the Milford Sound on a nice weather day

See also

• Doubtful Sound
• Fiordland
• Milford Sound Airport
• Transport in Milford Sound

References

1. ^ Tour Guide: Milford Sound, New Zealand National Geographic Intelligent Travel Blog, 2 June 2008
2. ^ TripAdvisor 2008 Travelers' Choice Destinations Award Downloadable PDF file (email address required)
3. ^ ^{a b} Real Journeys rapt with Kiwi Must-Do's - Scoop Independent News, Tuesday 13 February 2007.
4. ^ Milford Sound, South Island, New Zealand (from the National Geographic Photo Galleries. Accessed 20 October 2007.)
5. ^ The Flight of Maui (from the 'artfind.co.nz' website. Accessed 18 April 2008.)
6. ^ The Elephant (from the mitrepeak.com cruise website)
7. ^ Lion Mountain (from the mitrepeak.com cruise website)
8. ^ Milford Sound, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966, updated 22-Apr-09
9. ^ Otago Climate (from the Otago Regional Council website. Accessed 2006-12-26.)^{[dead link]}
10. ^ [www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/aclimsum_04.pdf Year 2004] (pdf-format, from the New Zealand National Climate Summary. Accessed 2011-11-15.)
11. ^ "Climate Data". NIWA. http://cliflo.niwa.co.nz/. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
12. ^ Terry Hearn. Welsh - Milford Sound, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Ministry of Culture and Heritage. Updated 4 March 2009. Accessed 2010-02-03.
13. ^ Fiordland (from Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Accessed 2008-02-06.)
14. ^ ^{a b} "Highway through heritage". The New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10627334. Retrieved 24 February 2010. 
15. ^ ^{a b c} Over and Under: Linking Queenstown and Milford Sound - e.nz magazine, IPENZ, May/June 2007
16. ^ Paddy Ryan. Fiords - Underwater rock walls and basins, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 21 September 2007. Accessed 18 April 2008.
17. ^ "Travel distance & driving times calculator". Aim Solutions. http://www.travelplanner.co.nz/driving/smlcalc.html. Retrieved 2007-11-03. 
18. ^ Police probe Milford diesel spill 'terrorism' - New Zealand Herald, Tuesday 10 February 2004

External links

• Milford Sound - Destination Fiordland (regional tourism organisation)
• Wondermondo, Flying waterfalls in Milford Sound
• [1] Land Information NZ Site - for downloading the Milford Sound / Piopiotahi topographic map

Coordinates: 44°40′30″S 167°55′46″E / 44.675°S 167.92944°E / -44.675; 167.92944