Friday, November 02, 2007

Milford Sound

Today I took a day trip to Milford Sound, one of the (if not the) top natural wonders of New Zealand. It was formed over two million years of glacial activity.


View Larger Map


We stopped at a mountain stream on the way. The water was as good as water gets.




To get to Milford Sound, you have to drive through a mountain via a one-mile tunnel, as well as a no-stopping avalanche zone.




Welcome to Milford Sound. The mountain on the left, Mitre Peak, extends one mile out of the water.










Looking into the sound from the Tasman Sea.




This waterfall is 150 meters tall--three times the height of Niagara Falls.




And a video to give some more perspective:



These photos hardly do this place justice. It was amazing. In addition to the natural wonders, we also saw penguins and fur seals.


So what's next for me? Summer job, for sure. But where? That's a hard question, and one that I haven't entirely decided yet.

-I'm leaning away from Queenstown, because it's an over-commercialized tourist haven, and I would spend all of my money. I love the place, but I think it suits me better as a vacation spot, rather than a place to settle for five or six months.

-I'm in Te Anau now. Very nice town--much smaller than Queenstown though. But far less commercialized, and quite friendly. I have a job offer here to work at a hotel. That would probably help me save a lot of money, but it would mean I'm dealing with package-deal tourists from Germany and Japan all summer. I think I've already learned once that money shouldn't be your deciding factor when seeking employment.

-I am leaning toward going back to the North Island and settling in Wellington. I've always been more of a city person, and Wellington really caught my attention.

So, I'm weighing my options now and will make a decision soon. I've definitely seen some of the top sights on the South Island, so I won't regret it if I head back north. Stay tuned for updates!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Holy smokes.... No wonder they film movies in New Zealand. It hardly looks like it could be real.