The original loosey-goosey plan was for me to toddle about in Queenstown today and leisurely make my way to Milford Sound tomorrow. You'll know by now that I have developed a great deal of trust and respect for my weather app though, so when it informed me that Milford today would be ok, but Milford Sound tomorrow would be abysmal, I changed things up.
342km and more than 5 hours later, I had traveled the scenic roads from Wanaka to Milford Sound. Along the way stopping to photograph all the interesting things I could.
I had even picked up a Californian hitchhiker 45 mins out of Te Anau and driven her to her hotel - grateful for the break from my well-worn Spotify playlist and the chit-chat we had.
I remembered the tunnel going to Milford, Homer Tunnel, from my last visit in 1993. But I guess in my mind I figured it would be different this time. Less ...rustic? Nope. Still one lane with a steep descent through a mountain. Still feels like you're entering a mineshaft! Water runs through it, it's dark and closed in feeling. Today was no exception. But it was also busy. Lots of other vehicles, including tour buses.
Making my way through, and slowly descended into Milford, the day was nice and the landscape was dramatic. My happy place.
Once there I poked around a bit, taking my time and absorbing that Milford-Miter Peak energy that I love.
At 8:30pm, as I was on my way out, something caught my eye. Remember how I said I tried to find the rare and elusive white heron on the west coast a couple of days ago? Well, there was ONE pottering around in the bay after sunset! About 100-120 white herons call NZ home. After mating season, they disburse a bit and it is more common to find a single bird feeding in shallow water than a flock. That's what I was seeing, and the fading light, I did my best with a 600mm zoom to capture this fortuitous find!
Then I hightailed it back up the winding narrow road and through the Homer Tunnel (which was empty now) and found myself a parking lot where the Routeburn Track begins. In the dark I was able to creep in beside a dozen other van-like vehicles, use a real bathroom and call it a night.
What a long day!
Oh and guess what? At 3am I woke to LOUD torrential rain on the roof of my van. Just as the weather app had predicted; the weather was taking a seriously negative turn overnight and had I waited one more day to see Milford Sound, I would not have seen it at all!
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