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Milford Sound Review

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Milford Sound

Category: Bodies of Water
Location: Milford Sound

Fodor's Review:

Fiordland National Park's most accessible and busiest attraction is Milford Sound, the sort of overpowering place where poets run out of words and photographers out of film or memory card. Hemmed in by walls of rock that rise from the waterline sheer up to 4,000 feet, the 13-km-long (18-mi-long) fiord was carved by a succession of glaciers as they gouged a track to the sea. Its dominant feature is the 5,560-foot pinnacle of Mitre Peak, which is capped with snow for all but the warmest months of the year. Opposite the peak, Bowen Falls tumbles 520 feet before exploding into the sea. On a clear day or after rain this is a spectacular place. Luxuriant rain forest clings to the sheer precipices washed with waterfalls. You'll often see seals on rocks soaking up the sun; dolphins sometimes flirt with the boats. But Milford Sound is also spectacularly wet: the average annual rainfall is around 20 feet, and it rains an average of 183 days a year. In addition to a raincoat you'll need insect repellent—the sound has voracious sandflies.

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