The Western Coast of South New Zealand - Where movies are made.

The southwestern corner of New Zealand is spectacular.  A massive rainforest plus mountain ranges that crop up in every direction create the magic of this landscape.  It has been made famous through travel ads but also via movies such as The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogy.   It rains nearly every day in this part of New Zealand so a day with sunshine is treasured.  One of the must do's in this part of New Zealand is a trip to the fjord lands where glaciers have ground to a halt and melted into clear deep lakes.  Our trip up to Milford Sound started with a rainbow!

How beautiful is this!

Glaciers created these mountains

The water is crystal clear

Stunning valley views

Everything is covered in a blanket of green moss, ferns and mushrooms including the trunks of the trees themselves.  Walking through these forests, one can imagine all sorts of mystical shapes flitting about.  The lushness of the forest is due to the massive amounts of rain that falls here......30 feet each year.  

Ferns cover every square inch of the forest floor at certain elevations

These toadstools are good hiding places for fairies

And then there are the waterfalls.  On our boat ride around Milford Sound, the weather was cloudy and rainy providing us with the opportunity to witness dozens of waterfalls cascading over the mountain cliff faces.  The smaller waterfalls occur only because of the rain and will last for about 2 hours after the rain has stopped. Though the day was grey, the scenery was spectacular.

Milford Sound is cold & deep

Waterfalls sprout from everywhere

Having a blast

Bridal Falls 

These photos certainly don't convey the immense power and awe one feels while here.  To date, this is one of the most dazzling areas of New Zealand we've visited.  We are excited to see what our next leg of the journey will bring.

Stay Curious

Dan & Cheryl





Comments

  1. Mary BMarch 24, 2020 at 8:55 AM

    Extremely beautiful. And the scenery is too! 🥰

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownApril 1, 2020 at 9:39 AM

    Wow! Thank you for sharing in these posts, our conversations about your travels... and this beautiful place!

    ReplyDelete

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