Milford sound and the Mitre peak New Zealand

27.6.11

Milford sound and the Mitre peak New Zealand

The majestic scenery begins long before you reach Milford, in the Eglinton Valley. Snow-capped mountains loom 1000 metres above the road, streaked with waterfalls, and reflected in mirror lakes. The road climbs steeply into a sub-alpine wonderland at the Homer Tunnel entrance. You emerge from the tunnel to an instantly breathtaking view of the canyon which descends into Milford.

Milford Sound comes a close second to the mountains of Tahiti in recording the highest rainfall in the world. The deluge of 7 metres of rain each year sounds forbidding for a tourist resort, but it actually adds to the drama and mystique of the sound. In torrential rain the sheer mountain walls erupt with a thousand cascades plunging from hanging valleys, wreathed in ethereal mists, and crossed with rainbows.