Kickin' it with the Kiwis: DAY 79: Mirror Lakes and Milford Sound

We got up early and skidaddled out of Te Anu for the Milford Sound. On our way, we stopped at the Mirror Lakes, which are freshwater pools that reflect the mountains behind them. It was pretty overcast that morning, so we didn't get the best view, but it was still very cool.

We continued our journey towards Milford Sound which was a rather interesting drive. The mountains were HUGE and snow covered as we wound our way inland. Finally, we got to the tunnel that would bring us into the sound.

FUN FACT #40: The tunnel into Milford Sounds is called the Homer Tunnel and is about a mile long. It stretches under the Homer Saddle and is completely granite.

I swear, being in that tunnel made me incredibly nervous. Is the mountain going to fall down on me? Where is the outside light? How long have we been in here? Where's the other side?!? Yeah, just a little bit scary.

When we made it through the tunnel and kept chuggin towards the Milford Sound Lodge where we had booked a tent site. When we got there, we found our friend Amy! She and her parents had a couple rooms at the lodge and were there until the next day. Amy told us to ditch the tent site and room with her. So we played rock paper scissors for the bed (Lizzy and I got the floor). The Mendoza's left for their cruise around the sound, and we waited in the lobby for our kayak tour guide to show up.

We signed some papers then climbed in the van for the ride down to the water and the kayak place. They loaded us up with long johns, fleece sweatshirts, raincoats, lifejackets, and water skirts and we were on our way! Emma and I shared a kayak while Jaime and Lizzy shared another. We paddled around the sound and learned quite a few interesting things.

FUN FACT #41: Milford Sound is not actually a "Sound". It's actually a "Fjord". But the people who named all of the sounds in the South Island did not know there was another name for it. So when the Norwegians/Scandinavians showed up and said, "Yo, this isn't a Sound. It's a Fjord" they decided not to change the names again but instead call all of the land that the sounds existed in as "Fjordland National Park".

FUN FACT #42: Milford Sound is considered the wettest place in New Zealand with an annual rainfall of 268 inches on 182 days of the year.

Lucky for us, the day we decided to go kayaking, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We paddled around the shores, saw Mitre Peak, Sterling Falls, and Lady Bowen Falls. We also saw seals sleeping in the sunshine! They were very fat and very cute.

FUN FACT #43: Mitre Peak is just over a mile tall, but has incredibly steep sides and takes about 10 hours to hike. Our guide told us only about 20 people climb it per summer.

On our way back to the dock, we pulled our kayaks ashore and hiked up to the Lady Bowen Falls.

FUN FACT #44: Lady Bowen Falls are 3 times the height of Niagra Falls. (Niagra is 167 feet, Lady Bowen is 531 feet) The falls are named after the 5th New Zealand governor's wife. The power generated from this waterfall provides electricity for the entire Milford Sound township.

When we finished with our 5 hour kayaking excursion, we went back to the Milford Sound Lodge to meet up with the Mendoza's. They generously took us out to dinner at the only restaurant there, the Blue Duck. We all had a wonderful time and enjoyed hanging out with them. Now we know where Amy gets it from :)