Fiordland, New Zealand

The Fjords of the Antipodes


Fjord in S
Jagged canyon of Milford Sound, just miles from the Tasman Sea.
rock niches
Sea lions at the sea end of Milford Sound.
spurt
Waterfall flows abundantly above the Chasm in Fiordland National Park.
Tribune of Honor
Ferry passengers admire the Milford Sound landscape.
Bridge over Chasma
Hikers cross a bridge over The Chasm in Fiordland National Park.
Kiwi Ferry
New Zealand's nautical flag waving from the stern of a ferry across the Milford Sound.
View Tunnel
Section of the road that connects Te Anau to the entrance to Milford Sound.
New Zealand fetuses
A lush fern near the Chasm in Fiordland National Park.
Path to the Mountain
Snowy Peak towers above Te Anau - Milford Sound Highway.
Stirling Falls
A ferry passenger admires the Stirling Falls waterfall.
The Summits of the Fjords
Panorama from the top of the Sounds as seen during a scenic flight.
a certain daring
Ferry comes as close as possible to Stirling Falls, one of several Milford Sound waterfalls.
moss rails
Mossy forest on the edge of Te Anau - Milford Sound Highway.
rushed river
A stream runs through a valley in Fiordland National Park.
A geological quirk made the Fiordland region the rawest and most imposing in New Zealand. Year after year, many thousands of visitors worship the sub-domain slashed between Te Anau and Milford Sound.

Whatever the itinerary, the discovery of the New Zealand sounds has a mandatory start in Te Anau, where hikers stock up on supplies and the last resort equipment, so often necessary because they are not prepared for the capricious local weather. 

The authorities Kiwi locals called it Te Anau Milford Highway.

As we traveled across the southern island, we got used to the ecological minimalism of these basic routes. And half an hour on the way is enough for us to confirm how her humility contrasted with the imposing scenery of the surrounding scenery.

We start by winding, going up and down through hills left behind by the glacial moraine that excavated Lake Te Anau, almost to 500 meters deep.

Onwards, we enter a dark and dense forest of beech trees that alternates with alluvial plains and gentle meadows yellowed by the tightening cold and which we see materialized in shades of white on the top of the mountains that close the Eglinton Valley and on the soaring summits of the Pyramid Peak and the Ngatimamoe Peak.

More often than we expected, we parked the car and went out for promising hikes, like the one in the Mirror Lakes where, over a bridge, we admire the more-than-perfect reflections of the surrounding mountains.

Around Km77, we find the area known by the natives as O Tapara, Cascade Creek for the settlers.

This is where the Maori detachments met and rested on their way to Anita Bay, where they prospected the stone they called pounamu (nephritis) and that, despite being considered semi-precious today, they considered the most valuable and sacred.

The Divide's Litical Division

Seven kilometers and many waterfalls fed by snow thaws later, we reach the rock wall of The Divide, the eastern-lower western passage of the Southern Alps. The Divide marks a geological as well as a climatic separation.

Road between Te Anau and Milford Sound, Fiordland National Parkl, New Zealand

Section of the road that connects Te Anau to the entrance to Milford Sound.

Without us expecting it, a thick, slow-motion snow begins to fall, which rescues our visibility and forces us to take a clumsy ride.

If there are places on Earth where it rains and – in the coldest months – it snows heavily, Fiordland is one of them. Certain areas have an average annual rainfall of almost 7 meters, spread over about 180 days.

On some of these days 250 mm of rain or snow or snow and rain can fall, a dynamic combination that, propelled by the strong wind, bewilders and puts even the most experienced hikers in affliction, at the mercy of the treacherous heights of the 480 km of trails in the region.

River, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

River runs through a valley in Fiordland National Park.

Even inside the car shelter, we felt psychological discomfort and impotence in the face of that rough landscape and the inclement nature of the elements that sculpted it. The storm does not linger. After half an hour, the setting is given a rewarding lull that restores the sharpness of raw antiquity.

A Panorama Little or Nothing Changed by the Millennium

In visual terms, but not only, Fiordland remains part of the prehistoric era. Many of its animals and plants are endemic and have evolved little since then: o takahe, a species of goose thought to be extinct 50 years ago, the kakapo, the heaviest parrot in the world, the ok, a cheeky relative (and the only alpine parrot) that we found soaked in a viewpoint and, who knows why, that insists on biting our shoes.

Geologically speaking, Fiordland's landscape has been crisscrossed by intense glacial erosion and by the tectonic activity that affected the islands of New Zealand during their long post-Gondwana drift across the Pacific Ocean.

While the movement of the plates continues to raise the cliffs and mountains to the order of 1.3 cm per year, the flooding climate takes care of the final decorative touches, with a clear focus on the more vivid shades of green.

As more and more inhospitable kilometers pass, the scenarios confirm themselves filled with a chaotic assortment of bushes that give way to specific streams. They are also covered with carpets of moss and resplendent ferns, with green or brown trunks, some stiff, others fallen and rotten but always full of lichens. 

Forest, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

Moss-covered forest on the edge of Te Anau – Milford Sound Highway.

Passage through The Chasm and the Majestic Vision of Milford Sound

We detected this composition in full, just 10km from Milford Sound and the Tasman Sea, around The Chasm where the Cleddau River crashes between gigantic polished boulders and disappears to the bottom of a tight abyss, all enjoyed over a bridge of wood overlooking Mount Tutoko, the highest peak in Fiordland.

The Chasm, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

Waterfall flows abundantly above the Chasm in Fiordland National Park.

The first sighting of Milford Sound dazzles us double. All of a sudden, the rebellious rivers give way to a long, meandering inlet of the Tasman Sea. From the edges of its dark blue bed, huge almost vertical rocky cliffs are projected, covered in a vertical forest green.

We board one of the ships that reveals this last kiwi frontier and, under the cover of the icy wind, we approach the supreme domain of Miter Peak (1692m).

Te Anau to Milford Sound highway, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

Snowy Peak stands out above Te Anau – Milford Sound Highway.

Rain Waterfalls, Ice Waterfalls

The waterfalls form white threads that stand out and succeed in dimensions and volumes regulated by the melting of continental lands and by rainfall.

Some are permanent. This is the case of the Stirling Falls, with a rich and dancing flow that gives us and the other passengers on the deck a rejuvenating shower.

Ferry, Stirling Falls, Milford Sound, Fiordland, New Zealand

Ferry comes as close as possible to Stirling Falls, one of several Milford Sound waterfalls.

The vessel follows its course in calm waters. Until the fjord opens, reveals the immensity of the Tasman Sea and submits to the discomfort of the strong swell. We explored a small stretch of the maritime slopes of this sound, we saw colonies of seals and some penguins.

Sea lions, Milford Sound, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

Sea lions at the sea end of Milford Sound.

Meanwhile, the boat reverses gear and returns to the protection of the mouth for the happiness of the most vulnerable passengers, who were already starting to feel seasick.

The Colonial History of the Evasive Sounds

The sailors at the service of the first discoverers to go offshore, among which the Dutchman Abel Tasman – who gave his name to the surrounding sea – hardly suffered from this condition. Strangely enough, they admired the same views but missed or ignored the narrow entrances that hid navigable canals and gave advanced access to the interior.

In 1773, one of these most famous sailors, named James Cook, was returning from an epic journey across the Southern Ocean in search of the great southern continent when he detected a substantial indentation in the mountains.

More cautious than curious, he chose not to explore it for fear that the wind accelerated by the tight gorge would prevent the vessel from returning to open sea. Inspired by this distrust, he named it the name that the neighboring Milford fjord continues to bear: Doubtful (doubtful or suspicious).

Gorge, Milford Sound, Fiordland, New Zealand

Jagged canyon of Milford Sound, just miles from the Tasman Sea.

Cook was to anchor the Resolution further south at Pickersgill Harbour, a natural refuge from another huge fjord, the Dusky Sound.

The difficulty in colonizing these wild and inhospitable lands has continued over the centuries, such that Fiordland is the region of New Zealand with the least population: only 2000 of its 4,1 million inhabitants live here.

On the other hand, when descriptions of the purity and beauty of these scenarios began to reach the four corners of the planet, new explorers began to flow.

Ferry Stern, Milford Sound, Fiordland, New Zealand

New Zealand's nautical flag waving from the stern of a ferry across the Milford Sound.

Donald Sutherland: The Pioneer Who Became a Host

It all started when Donald Sutherland, a soldier, adventurer, seal hunter, gold prospector and who knows what else, declared upon sighting Milford Sound: "If you ever drop anchor, it will be here."

Twelve years later, in 1878, his wife, Elisabeth, took advantage of the establishment of the first path between Te Anau and Milford and opened an inn to accommodate the asphalters, people from the city who arrived to appreciate the grandeur of the scenarios.

Milford Track. Milford Sound Discovered on Foot

Every year, 400 travelers from all over the world flock to the region, determined to explore it, whatever the cost. Some pay only with cash and are transported full time by land, sea and air. Others also pay with the body. They walk and climb until exhaustion.

The construction of roads in Fiordland has been limited to what is absolutely necessary or perhaps not even that, considering that there is only one. The tramping trails – the New Zealanders' favorite outdoor activity – scan the region without ceremony or shame, covering a total of almost 500 kilometers that wind from sea level to the highest peaks.

One of these trails, the Milford Track, became so popular that Fiordland National Park authorities had to “ration” the annual number of permits granted, to avoid excessive traffic in the warmer months.

With 54 kilometers long, which takes about four days to complete, and a route that leads to the entrance of Milford Sound through forests and waterlogged valleys, the Milford Track is labeled as “easy”.

Fetus, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

A lush fern near the Chasm in Fiordland National Park.

Others, as long or longer, go up and down mountains with such steep slopes that they require technical knowledge of climbing.

According to Maori mythology, the fjords were not carved by the icy rivers that once filled all the valleys, but by an ax-wielding god, Tu-te-raki-whanoa, who carved slices on the coast, now punished. by huge waves, to make it habitable.

The urban plan failed completely, but the Maori took the opportunity to discover the region, to fish, hunt and collect a type of jade they called tangiwai.

Certain tribal groups defeated in internal conflicts did, however, settle temporarily, living in seclusion among the seals and penguins – which the European settlers later almost extinguished – until they returned to the interior.

Ferry Stern, Milford Sound, Fiordland, New Zealand

New Zealand's nautical flag waving from the stern of a ferry across the Milford Sound.

Even then, they suffered from the sand flies that infest this part of New Zealand, responsible for the only negative criticism anyone dares to make of the region.

Experts in generating mythology, the Maori created the legend that they were introduced by the Dark goddess, Hine-nui-te-po, to prevent humans from becoming inactive in the face of the dazzling beauty of the landscape. This time, the divine plans did not fail. The only way not to offer them some blood is to stop as little as possible.

Nelson to Wharariki, Abel Tasman NP, New Zealand

The Maori coastline on which Europeans landed

Abel Janszoon Tasman explored more of the newly mapped and mythical "Terra australis" when a mistake soured the contact with natives of an unknown island. The episode inaugurated the colonial history of the New Zealand. Today, both the divine coast on which the episode took place and the surrounding seas evoke the Dutch navigator.
Wanaka, New Zealand

The Antipodes Great Outdoors

If New Zealand is known for its tranquility and intimacy with Nature, Wanaka exceeds any imagination. Located in an idyllic setting between the homonymous lake and the mystic Mount Aspiring, it became a place of worship. Many kiwis aspire to change their lives there.
North Island, New Zealand

Journey along the Path of Maority

New Zealand is one of the countries where the descendants of settlers and natives most respect each other. As we explored its northern island, we became aware of the interethnic maturation of this very old nation. Commonwealth , the Maori and Polynesia.
Banks Peninsula, New Zealand

The Divine Earth Shard of the Banks Peninsula

Seen from the air, the most obvious bulge on the South Island's east coast appears to have imploded again and again. Volcanic but verdant and bucolic, the Banks Peninsula confines in its almost cogwheel geomorphology the essence of the ever enviable New Zealand life.
napier, New Zealand

Back to the 30s - Calhambeque Tour

In a city rebuilt in Art Deco and with an atmosphere of the "crazy years" and beyond, the adequate means of transportation are the elegant classic automobiles of that era. In Napier, they are everywhere.
Christchurch, New Zealand

New Zealand's Cursed Wizard

Despite his notoriety in the antipodes, Ian Channell, the New Zealand sorcerer, failed to predict or prevent several earthquakes that struck Christchurch. At the age of 88, after 23 years of contract with the city, he made very controversial statements and ended up fired.
Mount cook, New Zealand

The Cloud Piercer Mountain

Aoraki/Mount Cook may fall far short of the world's roof but it is New Zealand's highest and most imposing mountain.
Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand

The Aeronautical Conquest of the Southern Alps

In 1955, pilot Harry Wigley created a system for taking off and landing on asphalt or snow. Since then, his company has unveiled, from the air, some of the greatest scenery in Oceania.
Tongariro, New Zealand

The Volcanoes of All Discords

In the late XNUMXth century, an indigenous chief ceded the PN Tongariro volcanoes to the British crown. Today, a significant part of the Maori people claim their mountains of fire from European settlers.
New Zealand  

When Counting Sheep causes Sleep Loss

20 years ago, New Zealand had 18 sheep per inhabitant. For political and economic reasons, the average was halved. In the antipodes, many breeders are worried about their future.
Napier, New Zealand

Back to the 30s

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bay of islands, New Zealand

New Zealand's Civilization Core

Waitangi is the key place for independence and the long-standing coexistence of native Maori and British settlers. In the surrounding Bay of Islands, the idyllic marine beauty of the New Zealand antipodes is celebrated, but also the complex and fascinating kiwi nation.
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

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Believers greet each other in the Bukhara region.
City
Bukhara, Uzbequistan

Among the Minarets of Old Turkestan

Situated on the ancient Silk Road, Bukhara has developed for at least two thousand years as an essential commercial, cultural and religious hub in Central Asia. It was Buddhist and then Muslim. It was part of the great Arab empire and that of Genghis Khan, the Turko-Mongol kingdoms and the Soviet Union, until it settled in the still young and peculiar Uzbekistan.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Beaches
Cobue; Nkwichi Lodge, Mozambique

The Hidden Mozambique of the Creaking Sands

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Hippopotamus displays tusks, among others
safari
PN Mana Pools, Zimbabwe

The Zambezi at the Top of Zimbabwe

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Faithful in front of the gompa The gompa Kag Chode Thupten Samphel Ling.
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit 15th - Kagbeni, Nepal

At the Gates of the Former Kingdom of Upper Mustang

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Treasures, Las Vegas, Nevada, City of Sin and Forgiveness
Architecture & Design
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lagoons and fumaroles, volcanoes, PN tongariro, new zealand
Aventura
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The Volcanoes of All Discords

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cowboys oceania, rodeo, el caballo, perth, australia
Ceremonies and Festivities
Perth, Australia

The Oceania Cowboys

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Cathedral, Funchal, Madeira
Cities
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Portal to a Nearly Tropical Portugal

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Beverage Machines, Japan
Lunch time
Japan

The Beverage Machines Empire

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Ooty, Tamil Nadu, Bollywood Scenery, Heartthrob's Eye
Culture
Ooty, India

In Bollywood's Nearly Ideal Setting

The conflict with Pakistan and the threat of terrorism made filming in Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh a drama. In Ooty, we see how this former British colonial station took the lead.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Sport
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.
kings canyon, red centre, heart, australia
Traveling
Red Center, Australia

Australia's Broken Heart

The Red Center is home to some of Australia's must-see natural landmarks. We are impressed by the grandeur of the scenarios but also by the renewed incompatibility of its two civilizations.
Skyway crosses Jamison Valley
Ethnic
Katoomba, Australia

The Blue Mountains Three Sisters

Located west of Sydney, the Blue Mountains form one of the most sought-after evasion realms both by the. ozzies and foreigners. They are attracted by the natural beauty seen from Katoomba, the sharp cliffs of the Three Sisters and the waterfalls that cascade over the Jamison Valley. In the shadow of this tourist frenzy, the usual marginalization of local aboriginal origins and culture persists.
View of Fa Island, Tonga, Last Polynesian Monarchy
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

Exotic Signs of Life

Serra do Mar train, Paraná, airy view
History
Curitiba a Morretes, Paraná, Brazil

Down Paraná, on Board the Train Serra do Mar

For more than two centuries, only a winding and narrow road connected Curitiba to the coast. Until, in 1885, a French company opened a 110 km railway. We walked along it to Morretes, the final station for passengers today. 40km from the original coastal terminus of Paranaguá.
Skipper of one of the bangkas at Raymen Beach Resort during a break from sailing
Islands
Islands Guimaras  e  Ave Maria, Philippines

Towards Ave Maria Island, in a Philippines full of Grace

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Boats on ice, Hailuoto Island, Finland.
Winter White
Hailuoto, Finland

A Refuge in the Gulf of Bothnia

During winter, the island of Hailuoto is connected to the rest of Finland by the country's longest ice road. Most of its 986 inhabitants esteem, above all, the distance that the island grants them.
Baie d'Oro, Île des Pins, New Caledonia
Literature
Île-des-Pins, New Caledonia

The Island that Leaned against Paradise

In 1964, Katsura Morimura delighted the Japan with a turquoise novel set in Ouvéa. But the neighboring Île-des-Pins has taken over the title "The Nearest Island to Paradise" and thrills its visitors.
Las Cuevas, Mendoza, across the Andes, Argentina
Nature
Mendoza, Argentina

From One Side to the Other of the Andes

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Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

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Principe Island, São Tomé and Principe
Natural Parks
Príncipe, São Tomé and Principe

Journey to the Noble Retreat of Príncipe Island

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Roça Sundy, Príncipe Island, Theory of Relativity, Lookout
UNESCO World Heritage
Roca Sundy, Príncipe Island, São Tomé and Principe

The Certainty of Relativity

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Correspondence verification
Characters
Rovaniemi, Finland

From the Finnish Lapland to the Arctic. A Visit to the Land of Santa

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Beaches
Gizo, Solomon Islands

A Saeraghi Young Singers Gala

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Glamor vs Faith
Religion
Goa, India

The Last Gasp of the Goan Portugality

The prominent city of Goa already justified the title of “rome of the east” when, in the middle of the XNUMXth century, epidemics of malaria and cholera led to its abandonment. The New Goa (Pangim) for which it was exchanged became the administrative seat of Portuguese India but was annexed by the Indian Union of post-independence. In both, time and neglect are ailments that now make the Portuguese colonial legacy wither.
Chepe Express, Chihuahua Al Pacifico Railway
On Rails
Creel to Los Mochis, Mexico

The Barrancas del Cobre & the CHEPE Iron Horse

The Sierra Madre Occidental's relief turned the dream into a construction nightmare that lasted six decades. In 1961, at last, the prodigious Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad was opened. Its 643km cross some of the most dramatic scenery in Mexico.
Replacement of light bulbs, Itaipu watt hydroelectric plant, Brazil, Paraguay
Society
Itaipu Binational Hydroelectric Power Plant, Brazil

Itaipu Binational Hydroelectric Power Plant: Watt Fever

In 1974, thousands of Brazilians and Paraguayans flocked to the construction zone of the then largest dam in the world. 30 years after completion, Itaipu generates 90% of Paraguay's energy and 20% of Brazil's.
Saksun, Faroe Islands, Streymoy, warning
Daily life
Saksun, streymoyFaroe Islands

The Faroese Village That Doesn't Want to be Disneyland

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Maria Jacarés, Pantanal Brazil
Wildlife
Miranda, Brazil

Maria dos Jacarés: the Pantanal shelters such Creatures

Eurides Fátima de Barros was born in the interior of the Miranda region. 38 years ago, he settled in a small business on the side of BR262 that crosses the Pantanal and gained an affinity with the alligators that lived on his doorstep. Disgusted that once upon a time the creatures were being slaughtered there, she began to take care of them. Now known as Maria dos Jacarés, she named each of the animals after a soccer player or coach. It also makes sure they recognize your calls.
Full Dog Mushing
Scenic Flights
Seward, Alaska

The Alaskan Dog Mushing Summer

It's almost 30 degrees and the glaciers are melting. In Alaska, entrepreneurs have little time to get rich. Until the end of August, dog mushing cannot stop.