Saturday 29 March 2014

Wilderness - Fjord Country

Week 3 

Sunday 3rd February 2013

Te Anau to Milford Sound

The guide books all tell the traveller to a] fill up with fuel & b]stock up on food, before travelling the isolated road to Milford Sound.  So being pretty obliging sorts we duly did as told, but there must be a few wild men in the area, the last photo in this post is the number plate of one such intrepid local.


The road started well, with open roads, skirting Lake Te Anau, flat sheep-grazing country backed by jagged peaks.


By the time the route left the lakeside, the countryside was changing dramatically fast. Forests of dense beech & pine, boulder strewn rivers, open valley floors with tussocks of waving grasses whilst those sharp, snow covered mountains came ever closer.  For Lord of the Rings buffs, you could just imagine the Riders of Rohan galloping towards you armed to the teeth.  For lunch we pulled into one of the wild camping DOC sites, with the only sound coming from the adjacent cascade creek, much depleted after the long drought.  


Cups & plates washed & safely stored away, we set off once again along the all but deserted road.  The road by now was beginning to climb up into the high passes, offering plenty of photo stops & super wow moments.  


Steep valley walls prone to rockfalls, wild looking valleys heading off into the wilderness, snow covering the shaded valleys & top most mountain tops.  


During the drive to the Homer Tunnel, we had seen very few vehicles or people, but  as we approached the tunnel mouth, a New Zealand traffic system was in place, a bored looking person with walkie talkie, controlling vehicle access on the Te Anau side.  Once inside the tunnel it was clear to see why, the road is single track with the road surface being bedrock & no room for oncoming traffic.  I did note that there was a similar system on the Milford Sound side.


After 800m, the road emerges high up on a steep mountain side & the route is now downhill all the way to the Sound.  The road is steep, the road is very twisty & a little exciting in a motorhome, but is wider than say Wrynose Pass in the Lake District, so so long as you keep breathing then there's no problem.  If however, you are of a nervous disposition, then perhaps take the tour coach or fly in to the small airfield located in a narrow valley between 2 high peaks in Milford Sound.

Before driving to Milford we had asked local NZ motorhomers about the possibility of 'wild camping' in the car park, but had been advised to park overnight at the  Milford Lodge, located opposite the tiny landing strip just before you come into Mildord Sound proper.  So we did, the only hiccup was that whilst chatting to the receptionist who came from Cork, we forgot to collect our pitch number so just parked anywhere as one does, only to be disturbed by a somewhat disturbed chap greatly concerned that we had parked on His Pitch, did we move l hear your ask?  Well, no, & did anything else funny happen there?  well yes, we laughed very loudly at an American Couple trying to reverse a very long Apollo rental camper, the outcome could have resulted in a serious bending round a tree moment.


The mad number plate as seen in a supermarket in Te Anau.

Today's mileage = 73.60 miles