Milford sound

After arriving at the quay in Milford sound, we boarded a boat for a two-hour trip down the fiord to the open sea and back.

Following the heavy rain of the last few weeks, there were plenty of waterfalls, many with vertical drops of hundreds of meters into the sound.

The scenery is on an epic scale. It can only be experienced. It is impossible to capture with a camera.

Where there are reasonably flat rocks along the shore, there are Fur Seals sunning themselves…

As we approached the final waterfall, on our way back to the dock, the skipper announced his intention to nose the boat into the curtain of falling water. Those of us that we’re listening, sought shelter in the cabin. Others got very wet indeed…

On our journey back, high in the mountains, we stopped in a a car park and had an encounter with a wild Kea. Leas are large alpine parrots that have little fear of humans and are reputedly very intelligent…