Milford Sound

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Panorama of Milford Sound on a beautiful day. Mitre Peak (center) rises 1692 m above the sound.

Location of Milford Sound.

Cliffs & waterfalls after dry spell. Two-story tour boat for size comparision.

Mitre Peak, Milford Sound.

Milford Sound, also known as Piopiotahi in Maori, is located in the south west of New Zealand's South Island. Although called Milford Sound, it is more accurately classified as a fjord. Milford Sound, likely the most famous tourist site of the South Island, is situated within the Fiordland National Park which is in turn part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site.

Milford Sound is named for Milford Haven in Wales, and the Cleddau River which flows into it is similarly named for its Welsh namesake. The Maori name for the sound, Piopiotahi, means first native thrush.

1 Geography
2 Tourism
- 2.1 Transport
3 Other aspects
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Milford Sound runs 15 kilometres inland from the Tasman Sea and is surrounded by sheer rock faces that rise 1200 metres or more on either side. Lush rain forests cling precariously to these cliffs, while seals, penguins, and dolphins frequent the waters.

With a mean annual rainfall of 6813 mm on 182 days a year,^[1] a high level even for the West Coast, Milford Sound is known as the wettest place in New Zealand and one of the wettest in the world. Rainfall can reach 250 mm on a span of 24 hours.^[2] 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 meters 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.

[edit] Tourism

The natural beauty of this landscape draws thousands of visitors each day, making it one of New Zealand's most visited and most famous spots - 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.

Hiking (tramping, in New Zealand English) and canoeing are also possible. A small number of companies also provides overnight boat trips. There is otherwise only limited accommodation at the sound otherwise, and only a very small percentage of tourists stay more than the day.

An underwater observatory 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.

[edit] Transport

Milford Sound is located about five hours' drive from Queenstown, many tour buses to the Sound depart from there, with some tourists also departing from the closer (and much smaller) tourism centre of Te Anau. There are also scenic flights by light aircraft and helicopter tours. The drive to Milford Sound itself passes through unspoiled mountain landscapes before entering the 1.2-kilometer Homer Tunnel which emerges into rain-forest carpeted canyons that descend to the sound. The mountain road is very winding, and while of high standards, 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. This peak time demand is also the reason for the large number of tour boats available at the sound at the same time.

Over the years, various options of short-cutting the distance to Milford Sound from Queenstown have been mooted, including a new road over the mountains, a gondola route, a tunnel, or even a monorail to Te Anau.^{[citation needed]} All these would help in cutting travel times, thus allowing tourism to be spread out over more of the day, but none have advanced seriously so far.

Milford Sound can also be reached on foot as the final destination of the several-day Milford Track.

[edit] Other aspects

On 8 February 2004 a spill of 13,000 litres of diesel fuel was discovered, resulting in a 2 kilometer 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, though more details did not become known. The spill has been removed and damage to the park's wildlife appears to have been minimal.

Near Milford Sound are also locations used to film some of the scenes of the Argonath in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ^[3].

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ Otago Climate (from the Otago Regional Council website, retrieved 2006-12-26)
^ Year 2004 (pdf-format, from the New Zealand National Climate Summary, Retrieved 2006-12-26)
^ The Lord of the Rings Location: Milford Sound (from travel website jasons.com)