Saturday 22nd April
We got up very early today and were on the road to Milford Sound by 7am. It was a magical day of blue sky but the mist rolled in the closer we got to Milford. We had a short stop at Mirror Lakes which was spectacular again. We also stopped at a few picturesque lookouts on the way.

We arrived over an hour early for our cruise (does anyone believe that?). We had a great cruise on the sound. 14km out to the Great Southern Ocean and then back. We went with Milford Cruises which was a smaller boat licensed to carry 155 but only take 75, we only had about 35. This made for a very enjoyable cruise. One of the staff was very chatty and told us a bit about his life. He was a crayfish fisherman originally. In the 80’s the Government issued licenses for fishing by quota per year. It was worked out by averaging your last 5 years catch. This was 10 tonne. So he was able to catch 10 tonne a year. You had this license for life or until you sold it. He sold his for NZ$250,000 in the 90’s, if he sold it today it is worth $13million. In high season now a fisherman could sell crayfish for $150 kg.

Mitre Peak is the tallest mountain in the sound is 1683m above water and 209m below water level. Milford Sound averages 7 metres of rain a year. The crags in the sides of the mountains are cause by the shift of the fault line from earthquakes. The last years quakes moved NZ 30cm closer to Australia. The sandflies are so plentiful they could carry you away.

It was a lovely day, picturesque drive and cruise.