Milford Sound, New Zealand
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All of
New Zealand was
memorable, but much of it might pale to the experience we had at
Milford Sound and
Red Boat Cruises.
On Thursday, March 10, 2005, we were on our way to
Milford Sound, but it was unclear if our boat trip would be operating.
It had been raining and a lot of clouds obscured the imperial views
of snow covered mountains.
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As we neared
Milford Sound, drivers of coaches gave signals indicating that the
boat operators may have cancelled bookings, but our tour manager
remained hopeful and we pressed on. Just as we arrived, the
weather began to turn for the better and our 3 p.m. trip was
confirmed as a "go".
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Above is Lady of the Sounds, our
Red Boat Cruises boat.
It has three levels including the open air top side. To the
right is our captain steering our way out into
Milford Sound.
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Just prior to our departure, another boat (left) prepares to embark
on into
Milford Sound.
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| As luck would have
it, the earlier rains created thousands of mighty waterfalls in
virtually every direction we looked. I had hoped to see at
least one unforgettable waterfall on our trip to
New Zealand, but
apparently God felt one was not enough on this day. It was if
he had switched on all the heavenly spigots just for us. |
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We were advised that almost all of the dramatic waterfalls we saw
would dry up quickly after the rain ended. Even as we left
Milford Sound, we noticed that there were fewer of them to be seen.
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The height of the waterfalls and the volume of water that spilled
over them is best appreciated in an image such as the one at right.
The cliffs at right seem to dwarf the reasonably large boat on the
left.
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In the shot at right, large amounts of rain water seem to emerge out
of nowhere from the side of the cliffs.
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At about the halfway point of our boat trip, we began to enjoy the
richness of a vivid blue sky emerge through the clouds.
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Near the end of our boat ride, we approached the
largest waterfall to find that the fusion of water, mist, rain and sun had
created perhaps the most dramatic rainbow any of us had ever seen. Look
closely at the two images below and you will see that there was a double rainbow
with one much more vivid beneath the other. Below right, we virtually rode
underneath as we got as close to a full rainbow as anyone possibly ever can.
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A number of interesting looking water craft offer sightseeing tours
of
Milford Sound.
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It turned out to be a lovely afternoon. The sun finally
penetrated the clouds while the mountains still spilled lakes of
water down their sides.
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In the shot at left, the mountain ahead appears to be kissing the
clouds.
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In the photograph at right, the snow capped mountains in the
background are in sharp contrast to the lush green below.
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Near the end of our journey on board Lady of the Sounds we
are all still in awe.
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