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1970 Ten years after my first visit to Milford, things are rather different. Kevin and I have gone our different ways, I have married and moved to Australia. On a return visit toNew Zealand, I am keen to show my (Australian) wife Margaret the beauties of my home country, and what better place than Milford Sound! Like all good tourists we spend a night in Queenstown with the imposing Remarkables in the background. What a lovely place this is!
We then continue down to Lake Te Anau where we spend the night. The float plane looks pretty on the lake, but I'm more concerned about the gathering clouds, and with good reason!
The next day, the heavens open! Shall we make the trip to Milford or not? There is not really much choice. We have planned two nights at Te Anau, and there is little appeal in spending a day shut in a motel room. So we head off. Of course one would not choose a day like this, but there are some positives to the experience. I am amazed at the quantity of water flowing down all around us into the valley.
Finally after a long, slow, rain-obscured drive, we pass through the Homer Tunnel and descend down to the Sound itself. The Bowen Falls make a spectacular sight, but is it worth getting drowned to catch a closer view? If the cloud breaks, the beauty of Milford is revealed in sombre mood. Unfortunately we don't have this good fortune: the clouds get even darker and the rain pours down. Of course, we knew that Milford Sound receives close to 7 metres of rain each year, but did it all have to fall on this particular day? We drive slowly back to Te Anau, somewhat damp, rather dispirited, but with a determination to return on a better day! |
