Milford Sound isn't actually a sound, it's a fjord. I was told
this enough times that it's obviously a very important lesson,
so, even though I put it in my log, I'll include the explanation
here as well. A sound is created by water, but a fjord is
created by glaciers. When you see the incredibly steep cliffs,
you can appreciate the difference.
Views around the fjord.
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The tall peak to the left is Mitre Peak. Supposedly it's the
tallest peak to rise straight from the water. Sometimes I
think people try too hard to come up with superlatives.
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We were told that the view is better on a rainy day because there
are more waterfalls. Here's some of the bounty we saw due to
the lousy weather.
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Some of the steep cliffs we saw.
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The vegetation has a very tenuous hold on the cliff-sides. The roots
intertwine with their neighbors to keep everybody in place, which is
all fine and dandy until somebody falls. When a couple trees from high
up go down, they can end up taking out everything below them also. The
bare vertical stripes on these rocks were caused by such 'treevalanches.'
(Hey, I didn't make up that word - don't blame me.)
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The dock at Milford Sound isn't allowed to get any bigger and they're
not allowed to build anything else, so there won't ever be any more
boats there than this.
|
The boat I was on traveled just outside the fjord so we could look
back in. This gave us an appreciation for how the mouth of the
fjord keeps the inner water relatively calm.
|
They have an underwater observatory in the fjord. Due to details I
discussed in my log, this gives a unique view of the life underwater.
|
This black coral is one such animal (yes, it's an animal, not a plant,
and yes, it's supposed to be white). Normally this coral lives too
deep for recreational divers to see, let alone someone in jeans and a
t-shirt.
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|
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Views around the fjord.
The tall peak to the left is Mitre Peak. Supposedly it's the
tallest peak to rise straight from the water. Sometimes I
think people try too hard to come up with superlatives.
We were told that the view is better on a rainy day because there
are more waterfalls. Here's some of the bounty we saw due to
the lousy weather.
Some of the steep cliffs we saw.
The vegetation has a very tenuous hold on the cliff-sides. The roots
intertwine with their neighbors to keep everybody in place, which is
all fine and dandy until somebody falls. When a couple trees from high
up go down, they can end up taking out everything below them also. The
bare vertical stripes on these rocks were caused by such 'treevalanches.'
(Hey, I didn't make up that word - don't blame me.)
The dock at Milford Sound isn't allowed to get any bigger and they're
not allowed to build anything else, so there won't ever be any more
boats there than this.
The boat I was on traveled just outside the fjord so we could look
back in. This gave us an appreciation for how the mouth of the
fjord keeps the inner water relatively calm.
They have an underwater observatory in the fjord. Due to details I
discussed in my log, this gives a unique view of the life underwater.
This black coral is one such animal (yes, it's an animal, not a plant,
and yes, it's supposed to be white). Normally this coral lives too
deep for recreational divers to see, let alone someone in jeans and a
t-shirt.
