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Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park, South Island of New Zealand. Picture courtesy of Krzyszt of Golik
Top 10 Astonishing Facts about Milford Sound
Milford Sound, the inlet of the Tasman sea, southwestern South Island, New Zealand.
The sound is a fjord, created when the sea flooded a glacial valley. About 2 miles (3km)wide, it extends inland for 12 miles(19km). The Milford was carved by glaciers during the ice ages.
Breathtaking in any weather, the Fjord cliffs rise vertically from the dark waters, mountain peaks scrape the sky, and waterfalls cascade downwards from as high as 100 meters.
Let us look at some astonishing facts about Milford Sound of New Zealand;
1. Milford sound is the only fiord in New Zealand to be accessible by road.
A clear and quiet road heading to Milford Sound. By Anderson Aguirre Andersonaguirre
However, road access to Milford Sound took several years to become a reality. In 1889 William Henry Homer was one of the first people to survey the area where the road was built.
At the time, he suggested that a tunnel going through the mountains would be the best way to provide road access to Milford Sound.
Construction for this tunnel began much later, in 1935, when the government sent a team of relief workers to get things underway. The Homer Tunnel was completed 19 years later, in 1954.
2. John Grono was the first European to visit Milford Sound
It is said that Milford Sounds entrance was so well hidden that captain Cook passed through it twice.
It was only in 1823, when a sealer called John Grono traversed the narrow fiord waterways, that the area caught the attention of European settlers.
Grono named Milford Sound after a long and narrow inlet on the Wah Coast known as the Milford Haven.
3. Rudyard Kipling was among the area’s famous visitors
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936). The earliest famous visitor of Milford Sound
Rudyard was well known for his stories and poems of British soldiers in India and his tales for children.
The British author went to Milford Sound in 1891 and famously declared that the fjord is 鈥榯he eighth wonder of the world.
On his New Zealand visit, Kipling also passed through Dunedin and Auckland and wrote a short story inspired by his travels.
4. There is a Milford village
The village is pretty small in size. While figures tend to fluctuate around the high tourist seasons, Milford Sound has a permanent population of around 120 residents.
Most people who live there work in tourism and conservation. Because of its small size, there are no shops in Milford Sound and no mobile coverage; its limited facilities include a single accommodation provider (the Milford Lodge) and an information center with a cafe.
5. Milford is a Fiord
Early European settlers named the area for its geographic features, but they made a mistake in doing so. A sound is formed when a river valley gets flooded by the sea. But Milford Sound was carved out of glacial erosion 鈥� thus making it a fiord, not a sound.
6. Piopiotahi is the M膩ori name for Milford Sound
Piopiotahi means 鈥榦ne single piopio鈥�, about a native bird that is long extinct. It is believed that when the legendary Maui died during his pursuit of immortality for mankind, a single piopio flew by Milford Sound in mourning.
7. Maori people started exploring the area several thousand years ago
M膩ori tribes residing on the South Island would travel to the area to fish, hunt, and collect some precious pounamu (greenstone jade).
Their treks often started from the east and used many traditional pathways, including what we now know as the iconic Milford track and its Mackinnon Pass.
8. Milford Sound is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Milford Sound, Earned UNESCO World Heritage status By By Bernard Spragg.
Fiordland National Park, where Milford Sound is situated, is one of the four national parks in the southwest of the South Island that make up Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Area.
Westland Tai Poutini, Aoraki/Mount Cook, and Mount Aspiring are the others in the vicinity.
Rocks, plants, and animals that can be traced back to Gondwanaland some 80 million years ago are among the features that earned the region its UNESCO heritage status.
9. Milford Sound is one of the wettest places in the world
Mount Pembroke from Milford Sound [Piopitahi], Fiordland National Park, South Island, South Island, New Zealand. Wettest part of the world. By LBM1948
10. The Lady Bowen Falls provides water and electricity to the village
Lady Bowen falls, Milford Sound. Picture By Bernard Spragg
Along with being Milford Sound鈥檚 tallest waterfall, the Lady Bowen Falls plays an important role in local operations.
Sometimes, dry spells and heavy rainfall can lead to a few issues in water flow, leading to the occasional power outage.
Heavy rainfall can also make this natural gem quadruple in size. For many, Lady Bowen鈥檚 breathtaking features tend to make up for the odd underflow and overflow issues.
Milford Sound continues to hold the UNESCO World Heritage status granted to it. Moreso forms a site for tourist attraction through unique and beautiful scenery in New Zealand. Provides water to the Milford Village and electric power is established at Lady Bowen to generate electricity for the community around and New Zealand as a whole.
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