Australia - Milford Sound
February 19th, 2008Today was our cruise on Milford Sound, the most western area of New Zealand. Milford Sound is thought to have been discovered by iwi Maori more than 1,000 years ago, whose highways were the waterways. We traveled by coach through the scenic Fiordland National Park. Des Jolly, our driver/Guide, interprerted the history, flora, waterfalls and wildlife during our drive to the sound. Fiordland National Park is one of the wettest places in the world, with Milford Sound averaging more than 6 meters or 237 inches per year. We enjoyed our 2 hour luncheon cruise in beautiful sunshine with a temptature of 25c or 79 F.
Ruth Mumaw remarked that the scenery enjoyed on the cruise was magnificent. Howard Brenneman commented that he can see why this mountain range is called the southern Alps - the highest point is Mt. Little at almost 7,000 feet. Muriel Quenzer was out on the deck when the Captain brought the ship in close to Stirling Falls and got sprayed by the falls. Ron and Marcia Haarer were the scribes for today and everyone was pleased that they were able to record the beauty we saw for our tour diary.
We are off to Lake Wanaka for the night and then back to Christchurch. What an awesome day for Bernadine Mast to celebrate her Birthday.
~ Wilmer Martin
