Milford Sound FARZANA CONTRACTOR takes a train and a steamer to Milford Sound, where the wild beauty of New Zealand is displayed with great effect in stunning landscapes. The fun of going into Milford Sound for me was in the journey itself. It�s a long, scenic drive from Queenstown that builds up as you near the Fiordland. But pray, what is this Fiordland all about?
I was on my way to the Milford Sound for an overnight cruise on the Milford Mariner. The comfortable luxury coach of Real Journeys had a pleasant, young, well informed driver-cum-guide. And the best part was the glass roof. With these huge windows you felt you were in a moving verandah! As we left Queenstown early morning, Lake Waktipu was on our right. We continued driving alongside its entire length of 84 kilometres, right till we reached our first halt at Kingston Town, to be greeted by the Kingston Flier, with its steam engine. You can if you wish to indulge in nostalgia, take a ride in it to its destination, from where you are picked up by the same coach, onward to Milford. A hot cup of latte later, you continue on your journey. The next halt is Te Anau. It�s a lunch halt and I discovered a nice place to eat there, Sandfly Cafe. It was a well planned little town with every amenity possible and I was amazed to learn the population was just 2,500 people. Here is where you tank up, for beyond Te Anau there are no more gas stations. This place is also the base for many treks one can go on and the town gets really busy in summer, which is from October to the end of April. As you proceed onwards the driver keeps you filled in with all sorts of information all along and you find you are also kept from dozing off, not that you want to. On either side of the road the landscape is cloaked in cool temperate rainforest, jungle-dense and complete with vines, climbers, perching plants and ferns. The predominant tree species is the silver beech, which the wet conditions of the Fiordland support marvelously. This tree is easily identified � it has a silvery or white bark with serrated leaves and it can grow up to 25 metres. In addition to the silver beech, you also find red beech, which were pointed out to us at the next halt which was The Chasm. Here you go for a 20 minute walk in a part of the rain forest and also get to see the Cleddau River plunging through a narrow chasm, thundering and roaring.
As you climb higher the landscape slowly changes. From driving past green fields and farmers herding sheep along, you find the snow line coming lower on the hills you now pass by. The region starts to look even more majestic. A long tricky tunnel (Homer) later, you reach the Milford Terminal where you board your Cruise Liner. The Milford Mariner might not make it to Vijay Mallya�s fleet but it is comfortable enough. A get-together happens, everybody meets everybody, acquaintances are struck and the jolly group moves on. Floating between one thundering waterfall and another. The enterprising Captain takes you close enough for good pictures and for a spray shower! After a while you anchor at the sheltered Harrison�s Cove, and small boats are lowered, into which the sporting ones get on and go for some kayaking. I stayed on board, safe and dry and with the deck all to myself, practiced yoga. Dinner was altogether pretty decent. With hor d�eouvres preceeding, and a lavish dessert spread, after, everyone goes to bed rather happily. The shelves at Gronno�s Bar was needless to say full of empty bottles. Next morning you are awake to the sounds of the engine, merrily sailing towards the mouth of the Fiord and the open sea. The water now so choppy your coffee cup dances on the table making you abandon breakfast. And then the Captain makes a turn around and you head back to alight and take the coach back to Queenstown.
Real Journeys
PHOTOGRAPHS BY FARZANA CONTRACTOR |
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It�s the wild beauty of New Zealand displayed with great effect in stunning landscapes. An area where there are untamed waterfalls tumbling hundreds of metres into forested valleys and lonely fiords. Where the sun glistens and lakes shimmer and the rainforest stands silently having witnessed the goings on for centuries, with towering granite peaks for company.
The Fiordland National Park is one of the wettest places of the world, with Milford Sound averaging more than 6m a year. In heavy rain, the great rock walls stream with waterfalls and small rivers become raging torrents. The steep jumbled topography, rugged coastline, dense forest, challenging climate has resulted in a region that has largely shunned the development of roads and town. The Park covers 1.25 hectares or 3 million acres. It acquired its status of a World Heritage Area in 1986 because of its superlative natural features, its exceptional beauty and its role in demonstrating the earth�s evolutionary history.
If you are lucky you will have seen some seals and dolphins. If you are luckier you will have not just seen a Kea parrot but it will have come to you and had a little conversation. But you will be luckiest if you will have booked a flight back to Queenstown, for then you will have got a completely different perspective of the Fiordland, flying over it.
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