Milford Sound, N.Z. Jan. 31, 2002 Milford Sound is Breathtaking

By Bob Van Leer
(MILFORD SOUND, New Zealand, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2001) - Early this morning we entered the majestic Milford Sound, a glacier-carved fiord on the southwest coast of South Island, New Zealand.

The sound is breathtaking. It is about 20 kilometers long and up to 1200 feet deep. Milford Sound is dominated by Mitre Peak which is 5560 feet high and drops nearly straight down to the salt water.
  There are waterfalls up to 500 feet high, but there is not a lot of water now as there haven't been many rains. Betty and I were here once before, in 1988, and drove in over a low-standard road from the east. At that time we took a tour of the sound on a local boat.
  Three cruise ships entered the sound this morning. The Pacific Sky was just coming out as we entered at 7:30 a.m. As we traveled up the sound we met and passed the Regal Princess, which was docked near us in Hobart, Tasmania. We saw a few seals and these appeared to be about three feet long.
  Our next stop is Picton, on the north end of South Island. We had been scheduled there for a day of exposure to the Maori culture. The Maoris were the indigenous inhabitants of New Zealand. But the tour was called off because of some kind of internal differences within the tribe. ----<>----