1960

My first visit to Milford Sound, near the bottom of New Zealand’s South Island, is in 1960.

My friend Kevin Wilson and I decide to tour the South Island in his little old Morris, lovingly called Maurice of course. The car serves us well, never missing a beat. We reward it by decorating the paint-work with shoe whitener, keeping track of our progress!

I’m not really a camping person, but I have good memories of this trip. One memory is of an early morning near Milford when a little fantail comes flitting across us while we are lying in the tent.

Some people visit Milford Sound as a day trip from Queenstown, but this makes it rather a rushed visit. The distance between Te Anau and Milford Sound is some 120 km, and the road is not designed for fast travelling. So it is much better to spend a couple of nights at Te Anau, near the Lake. This is a good jumping off place for Milford Sound to the north, and, in the opposite direction, Doubtful Sound, but there is plenty to see at Te Anau itself.

A boat trip to the northern end of the lake, brings us to the start of the Milford Track. We don’t do the walk: it’s a three day guided trek, and beyond the means of penniless students – at least in 1960! We do take a boat trip to the Te Anau Caves, and these are well worth a visit.

Waitomo Caves in the North Island are essentially dry caves; in contrast, the Te Anau Caves are decidedly wet, with a stream and waterfall inside.

Kevin and I take an easy relaxing day to visit Milford Sound. We’ll note some of the beautiful scenery between Te Anau and Milford when recording a later trip, but there are some special memories from this trip of sights which no longer exist. In 1960, Milford Sound boasts a five star hotel, from memory, the ‘Chateau Milford’. As a business, it appears that this was unviable, presumably due to seasonal demand and difficulties of supply. On our visit we enjoy the hotel’s grand foyer ...

... and make the most of the wonderful photographic opportunites it provides!

Then, as now, the highlight of a visit to Milford Sound is the view of majestic Mitre Peak. This is a stunning sight. Rising to 1,692 metres (i.e. just over a mile) from the water of the Sound (more technically a fjord), it is actually a closely grouped set of five peaks, although from most easily accessible viewpoints it appears as a single summit.

We take time to visit nearby Bowen Falls,

and take a trip on one of the tour boats that regularly ply the Sound.

Kevin and I return to Te Anau (Maurice thinks the steep climb back up to the Homer Tunnel is straining the friendship!), well satisfied with a beautiful day spent in Paradise.