Milford Sound a Fiordland Nartional Park

New Zealand has 14 national parks, the largest being Fiordland which is located at the extreme southern tip of the South Island, 5 hours by bus from Queenstown, and which is larger in size than the remaining 13 combined.

Milford Sound whose name in Maori is Piopiothai is located in the north of Fiordland National Park and is considered one of the main tourist destinations in New Zealand.

For its grandeur and one-of-a-kind beauty it was called by Rudyard Kipling the eighth beauty of the world. This justifies the long bus journey (10 hours in total return all in one day) for 2 hours by boat tha the fjords.

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Read also: New Zealand – South Island Journey Times Map

We left at 8am from Queenstown. I knew I would have to spend 5 hours on the bus to get to Milford and considered that a bus trip in New Zealand is a pleasure rather than a drama I was excited.
Also in this case the landscapes left me speechless.

We crossed lakes, snow-capped and then green mountains again, steppes, sheep pastures (did you know that 30 million sheep live in New Zealand and less than 5 million people?) and made a few stops.

As always since I’ve been here, it’s incredibly cold in the morning, but the mountain air and the healthy cold were just what we needed, especially if accompanied by a cup of hot coffee!

After 5 hours of travel we arrived at Milford Sound where the large boat was waiting for us to begin this hour and a half surrounded by mountains, seals and waterfalls of icy water that flow with kindness and elegance into the river.
This is where nature gives its best.

Mountains, waterfalls and large spaces.
I realize how gigantic the mountains are when in front of us I see another boat the same size as us that looks like a small ant in proportion.

If the size of the ocean makes you lose orientation and sometimes fear, the sensation I had in this case was profoundly different, helplessness, respect for its majesty but peace and tranquility. I thought nothing could happen there.

Seals on a rock sunbathe, occasionally moving on their two flippers by jumping.

We are approaching one waterfall. The water falls from about 300 meters above sea level, we move forward so much that we all get wet but no one, despite the freezing water, moves. It is us under a rain of fresh water.

Earth, water, air and fire (a beautiful sun made this experience an unforgettable moment) are the 4 elements that come together here, making this country a mystical and primordial place.
So far from everything and so pure and genuine in which Mother Nature dictates the rules and man lives in compliance with them.