Tuesday 1 August 2017

TRAVEL TUESDAY #90 - MILFORD SOUND, NZ

“Keep close to Nature’s heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” - John Muir 

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Milford Sound (Piopiotahi in Māori) is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand’s South Island, within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world’s top travel destination in an international survey (the 2008 Travellers’ Choice Destinations Awards by Trip Advisor) and is acclaimed as New Zealand’s most famous tourist destination. Rudyard Kipling had previously called it the eighth Wonder of the World.

Milford Sound runs 15 kilometres inland from the Tasman Sea at Dale Point - the mouth of the fiord - and is surrounded by sheer rock faces that rise 1,200 metres or more on either side. Among the peaks are The Elephant at 1,517 metres, said to resemble an elephant’s head, and The Lion, 1,302 metres, in the shape of a crouching lion. Milford Sound has two permanent waterfalls all year round, Lady Bowen Falls and Stirling Falls. After heavy rain however, many hundreds of temporary waterfalls can be seen running down the steep sided rock faces that line the fiord. They are fed by rain-water drenched moss and will last a few days at most once the rain stops.

With a mean annual rainfall of 6,813 mm on 182 days a year, a high level even for the West Coast, Milford Sound is known as the wettest inhabited place in New Zealand and one of the wettest in the world. Rainfall can reach 250 mm during a span of 24 hours! Lush rain forests cling precariously to the cliffs, while seals, penguins, and dolphins frequent the waters and whales can be seen sometimes. The sound has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it is a breeding site for Fiordland Penguins.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

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4 comments:

  1. I'd love to go there - the photos are so beautiful!

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  2. My niece made a w trip around the world with her hubby. Ever since I saw her photos wanted to go there - so strikingly beautiful!

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  3. We haven't been to Milford Sound in almost 20 years, and we live in New Zealand. This is giving me an idea for next summer.

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  4. I love to see New Zealand...especially after a heavy rain to see all those waterfalls!

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