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Look Closer and Discover Real Milford Sound
Date: 25 October 2022Get closer to Milford Sound through its people, places and experiences.
Milford Sound has legendary status amongst visitors and nationals alike. It’s a destination of pure power, boasting environments inconceivable to the imagination. However, when you take a journey to Milford Sound, its lasting impression may not simply be of the sky-scraping mountains or the fascinating geological information. It’s the subtle moments that linger. Read on to discover the hidden treasures that lay within.
Keep Learning
When aboard a nature cruise, your nature guide feels like your personal fountain of knowledge. The reality is that they’re always learning from their surroundings. “Over the seasons I’ve worked, I’ve picked up quite a lot of information, I’m definitely still learning,” says Ruby, the overnight nature guide at Milford Sound. Working while immersed in the wilderness offers consistent discovery, especially when new research emerges. Ruby reflects her “favourite view of Milford Sound is specifically Harrison Cove, looking up the river. The Pembrooke glacier that’s up there at the moment once sat in the Harrison valley and has slowly receded to the top of that mountain.” Ironically, the environment they’re tasked to analyse, that’s continually changing, adapting, and provoking questions, reflects their own careers.
See the Conserved Cove
It’s a guarantee that your eyes will be drawn to Mitre Peak, but we believe you can find a real place of interest if turn your back on it. Instead, focus your attention on the mouth of Harrison River and up the glacial valley. Harrison Cove is a retained breeding spot of the tawaki, also known as the Fiordland crested penguin. We say that it takes a village to raise tawaki, plus a skipper or two. With the help of Milford’s village, for over 20 years they’ve sailed out to Harrison Cove to check and reset the traps in the trapping lines that now surround it. These lines may help protect the species from predators, so the tawaki might thrive. Offering a moment of pause, peace, and wildlife, this quiet cove offers more than a backdrop to Milford’s magnificence.
Feel Immersed in Milford
Many people choose to explore Milford to see its masses of thundering waterfalls. Few people stand under them. Though there may be only two permanent waterfalls, Lady Bowen and Stirling Falls, hundreds typically tumble from the crevasses. When you glide through the millions-year-old fiord, you’re heading towards baptism in a refreshing glacial runoff that few would forget. The immersion into the falls is the experience that really gets you closer to nature, is what shakes you awake, and connects you to the place. Pull on your raincoat, take up a power stance and feel the spray, it’s the best wake-up call you’ll ever get.
