Weeping mountains and the Sound of thunder

“Lights flashed and a dragon’s roar filled the air. Hail thundered on the roof and the raging wind shook them. Water crashed down from the snow-capped peaks as the mountains wept. Hundreds of waterfalls appearing through every crack and crevasse in the rock, emerging from the rainforest.”

I would be happy with this as the opening of a book. Less so as a description of my holiday!

Milford Sound is better known as “Middle Earth”. It's where a lot of the iconic Lord of the Rings films were made. The fjord is also known for its spectacular scenery, steep sided mountains and it's sheer gigantic scale. We knew in advance that, given it rains there 300 days a year, it was likely that we would encounter some poor weather but it was a shame that the weather was quite so biblical on the day we arrived.

Luckily though, our journey into the Sound down the Milford road, through the Hollyman tunnel and mountains pass, was incredible. When it rains in the area, it really rains and the result is hundreds, if not thousands of waterfalls appearing everywhere you look. Some small, some violent but all impressive and tall. I’m actually glad that we got to see this as it is like nothing I have seen elsewhere before, certainly on this level. The lush green vegetation and moss covered trees add a sense of eerie beauty to the place and the low clouds added atmosphere. I struggled to get decent photos with my camera so the pictures really don't do it justice.

On route we stopped off at Mirror Lake and the impressive Chasm which are a short detour from the road.

However, whilst these were the official stops, we couldn't help stopping frequently to look at the views? I lost count of the number of times the word “wow” gasped from my lips.

The really bad weather really set in as we were arriving at Milford Lodge, the only camping ground and hostel in Milford Sound. We were extremely happy to be parked up in the storm as the wind blew our camper van around, thunder roared and hail pelted the roof. Happily we were safe I side with our friend Emma enjoying the offerings of the Otago region vineyards visited earlier in the week. Well what else was there to do?!

In the morning we took a 9am boat trip down the Sound but sadly encountered a lot of cloud so the views weren't as spectacular as usual. Although check out the first photo below… no that’s not a blurred photo!

We were lucky enough though to see bottle nosed dolphins, penguins and seals in the Sound which is not always possible so we did at least have some luck. Thomas was thrilled with the dolphins!

My advice would be that, despite the weather risk, it is worth the journey down there. Yes you may have rain but that brings the waterfalls. Yes the journey from Queenstown is long (4 hours) but it is a stunning drive, particularly the last hour which for me was the highlight of the trip there. We broke our journey on the way with an overnight stay in Te Anau but there is really no need if you are prepared to put in a couple of long days. Definitely worth it.