Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is a
fiord
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icela ...
in the south west of New Zealand's
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
within
Fiordland National Park
Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is by far the largest of the 13 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of , and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Site. The park i ...
,
Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve
Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve is a Marine reserves of New Zealand, marine reserve covering an area of in the Milford Sound / Piopiotahi, in Fiordland on New Zealand's South Island. It was established in 1993 and is administered by th ...
, and the
Te Wahipounamu
Te Wāhipounamu (Māori for "the place of greenstone") is a World Heritage Site in the south west corner of the South Island of New Zealand.
Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1990 and covering , the site incorporates four national park ...
World Heritage
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
site. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey (the ''2008 Travelers' Choice Destinations Awards'' by TripAdvisor) and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination.
["Real Journeys rapt with Kiwi Must-Do's"](_blank)
''Scoop'', 13 February 2007. Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
had previously called it the
eighth Wonder of the World
Eighth Wonder of the World is an unofficial title sometimes given to new buildings, structures, projects, designs or even people that are deemed to be comparable to the seven Wonders of the World.
Candidates for the Eighth Wonder of the World
...
. The fiord is most commonly accessed via road (
State Highway 94) by tour coach, with the road terminating at a small village also called
Milford Sound
Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top tra ...
.
Etymology
Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is one of roughly 90 places to have been given a
dual name
Dual naming is the adoption of an official place name that combines two earlier names, or uses both names, often to resolve a disagreement over which of the two individual names is more appropriate. In some cases, the reasons are political. Some ...
as part of a 1998
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...
settlement
Settlement may refer to:
*Human settlement, a community where people live
*Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building
*Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction
*Settlement (fina ...
with
Ngāi Tahu
Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Poi ...
, recognising the significance of the fiord to both
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
and
Pākehā
Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...
New Zealanders. This name consists of both the Māori name and the former European name used together as a single name, instead of as interchangeable alternate names.
In
te reo Māori, the fiord is known as ''Piopiotahi'' after the now extinct
piopio, a thrush-like bird which used to inhabit New Zealand. According to the
Māori legend of
Māui trying to win immortality for mankind, a single piopio flew to the fiord in mourning following Māui's death. The name Piopiotahi refers to this bird, with ''tahi'' meaning 'one' in Māori.
The fiord was given its European name in 1823, when the sealer
John Grono
John Grono (c.1763–4 May 1847) was a settler, sailor, ship builder, ship captain, sealer, whaler and farmer who migrated to Australia in 1799 from Wales. Captaining the ship , he would later go on to be the first European to fully explore and na ...
named it Milford Sound after
Milford Haven
Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...
in his birthplace of
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. The
Cleddau River
The Cleddau River is a river of New Zealand. It flows into the head of Milford Sound.
See also
*List of rivers of New Zealand
This is a list of all waterways named as rivers in New Zealand.
A
* Aan River
* Acheron River (Canterbury)
* A ...
, which flows into the fiord, was also named for its
Welsh namesake.
Geography
As a fiord, Milford Sound was formed by a process of
glaciation
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
over millions of years. The village at the end of the fiord is also known as
Milford Sound
Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top tra ...
.
Milford Sound runs 15 kilometres inland from the
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...
at Dale Point (also named after a location close to Milford Haven in Wales)—the mouth of the fiord—and is surrounded by sheer rock faces that rise or more on either side. Among the peaks are The Elephant at , said to resemble an
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
's head, and The Lion, , in the shape of a crouching
lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
.
Milford Sound sports two permanent waterfalls,
Lady Bowen Falls
The Bowen Falls ( mi, Hineteawa), also known as Lady Bowen Falls, is a popular tourist attraction at Milford Sound, a fjord, fiord in New Zealand.
The long Bowen River (New Zealand), Bowen River located in Fiordland National Park supplies the w ...
and
Stirling Falls
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, ...
. After heavy rain temporary waterfalls can be seen running down the steep sided rock faces that line the fiord. They are fed by rain water drenched moss and will last a few days at most once the rain stops.
Climate
With a mean annual rainfall of each year, a high level even for the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
, Milford Sound is known as the wettest inhabited place in New Zealand and one of the wettest in the world. Rainfall can reach during a span of 24 hours. The rainfall creates dozens of temporary
waterfalls
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...
(as well as a number of major, more permanent ones) cascading down the cliff faces, some reaching a thousand metres in length. Smaller falls from such heights may never reach the bottom of the sound, drifting away in the wind.
Accumulated rainwater can, at times, cause portions of the rain forest to lose their grip on the sheer cliff faces, resulting in tree avalanches into the fiord. The regrowth of the rain forest after these avalanches can be seen in several locations along the sound.
Wildlife
Milford Sound is home to a variety of marine mammals, including
seals
Seals may refer to:
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
and the southernmost wild population of
bottlenose dolphin
Bottlenose dolphins are aquatic mammals in the genus ''Tursiops.'' They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus definitively contains two species: the common ...
s.
Whale
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
s, especially the
humpback and
southern right whale
The southern right whale (''Eubalaena australis'') is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus ''Eubalaena''. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20 ...
s, are increasingly observed due to recoveries of each species.
Penguin
Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...
s are also common within the sound, which is a breeding site for the
Fiordland penguin
The Fiordland penguin (''Eudyptes pachyrhynchus''), also known as the Fiordland crested penguin (in Māori, ''tawaki'' or pokotiwha), is a crested penguin species endemic to New Zealand. It currently breeds along the south-western coasts of New ...
and has subsequently been identified as an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
by
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
.
As a result of Milford Sound's high rainfall and the density of saltwater, the surface of Milford Sound is a layer of freshwater containing tannins from the surrounding rainforest. This filters much of the sunlight which enters the water, allowing for a variety of
Black coral
Antipatharians, also known as black corals or thorn corals, are an order of soft deep-water corals. These corals can be recognized by their jet-black or dark brown chitin skeletons, surrounded by the polyps (part of coral that is alive). Antip ...
to be found at depths of as shallow as 10 metres, significantly closer to the surface than usual.
History
Milford Sound was initially overlooked by European explorers, because its narrow entry did not appear to lead into such large interior bays. Sailing ship captains such as
James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
, who bypassed Milford Sound on his journeys for just this reason, also feared venturing too close to the steep mountainsides, afraid that wind conditions would prevent escape.
The fiord was a playground for local Māori who had acquired a large amount of local marine knowledge including tidal patterns and fish feeding patterns over generations prior to European arrival.
The fiord remained undiscovered by Europeans until Captain
John Grono
John Grono (c.1763–4 May 1847) was a settler, sailor, ship builder, ship captain, sealer, whaler and farmer who migrated to Australia in 1799 from Wales. Captaining the ship , he would later go on to be the first European to fully explore and na ...
discovered it c.1812 and named it Milford Haven after his homeland in Wales. Captain
John Lort Stokes
Admiral John Lort Stokes, RN (1 August 1811 – 11 June 1885)Although 1812 is frequently given as Stokes's year of birth, it has been argued by author Marsden Hordern that Stokes was born in 1811, citing a letter by fellow naval officer Crawford ...
later renamed Milford Haven as Milford Sound. Following the passage of the
Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998
The Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 is an act of Parliament passed in New Zealand relating to Ngāi Tahu, the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. It was negotiated in part by Henare Rakiihia Tau. The documents in relation to the ...
, the name of the fiord was officially altered to Milford Sound / Piopiotahi.
While
Fiordland
Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, ...
as such remained one of the least-explored areas of New Zealand up to the 20th century, Milford Sound's natural beauty soon attracted national and international renown, and led to the discovery of the
McKinnon Pass
, photo = Milford Track Mackinnon Pass.jpg
, photo_size = 270px
, photo_alt =
, photo_caption = Looking up the Clinton River valley to Omanui / McKinnon Pass
, map = New Zealand Fiordland
, map ...
in 1888, soon to become a part of the new
Milford Track
The Milford Track is a hiking route in New Zealand, located amidst mountains and temperate rain forest in Fiordland National Park in the southwest of the South Island. The 53.5 km (33.2 mi) hike starts at Glade Wharf at the head o ...
, an early walking tourism trail. In the same year, the low watershed saddle between the
Hollyford River
The Hollyford River / Whakatipu Kā Tuka is in the southwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It runs for through Fiordland, its sources being close to the Homer Tunnel and in Gertrude Valley in the southern Darran Mountains.
At first, t ...
and the Cleddau River was discovered, where the
Homer Tunnel
The Homer Tunnel is a 1.2 km (0.75 miles) long road tunnel in the Fiordland region of the South Island of New Zealand, opened in 1953. New Zealand State Highway 94 passes through the tunnel, linking Milford Sound to Te Anau and Queenstown ...
was to be developed about sixty years later to provide road access.
As of the 2006 census, just 120 people lived in Milford Sound,
most of them working in tourism or conservation.
Tourism
Overview
Milford Sound attracts between 550,000 and 1 million visitors per year.
["Over and Under: Linking Queenstown and Milford Sound". ''e.nz magazine'', ]IPENZ
Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau (ENZ; previously the New Zealand Institution of Engineers – NZIE and then Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand – IPENZ) is a not-for-profit professional body that promotes the integrity a ...
, May/June 2007 This makes the sound one of New Zealand's most-visited tourist spots even with its remote location and long journey times from the nearest population centres.
Many tourists take one of the boat tours which usually last one to two hours. They are offered by several companies, departing from the Milford Sound Visitors' Centre.
Tramping
Tramping may refer to:
Travel
*Hiking
*Trekking
*Tramping in New Zealand, a style of backpacking or hiking
* Czech tramping, a Czech outdoors pastime
Places
* Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380, Saskatchewan, Canada
** Tramping Lake, Sas ...
,
canoeing
Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...
, and some other water sports are possible. A small number of companies also provide overnight boat trips. There is otherwise only limited accommodation at the sound, and only a very small percentage of tourists stay more than the day. Tourists usually stay in Te Anau or Queenstown.
The Milford Discovery Centre & Underwater Observatory is located in Harrisons Cove on the north side of the fiord. Situated within the Piopiotahi Marine Reserve, the underwater observatory allows visitors to view the fiord's unique marine environment at a depth of 10 metres. Due to a natural phenomenon called '
deep water emergence
Deep or The Deep may refer to:
Places United States
* Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia
* Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah
* Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania
* Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary), C ...
,' deep-water animals such as
black coral
Antipatharians, also known as black corals or thorn corals, are an order of soft deep-water corals. These corals can be recognized by their jet-black or dark brown chitin skeletons, surrounded by the polyps (part of coral that is alive). Antip ...
can be viewed in the shallow waters surrounding the observatory. A dark surface layer of fresh water, stained brown by tannins from the surrounding forest, along with cold water temperatures allow the black corals to grow close to the surface throughout Milford Sound and Fiordland.
Milford Sound is also a destination for
cruise ships
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...
.
Transport
By road, Milford Sound is from
Queenstown and from
Invercargill
Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...
(about four hours' drive),
with most of the tour buses to the sound departing from Queenstown. Some tourists also arrive from the smaller tourism centre of
Te Anau
Te Anau is a town in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand. In Maori, Te-Anau means the Place of the Swirling Waters. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Te Anau in Fiordland. Te Anau is 155 kilometres north of Invercargill an ...
, away. There are also scenic flights by light aircraft and helicopter tours to and from
Milford Sound Airport
Milford Sound Airport is a small but very busy (in terms of flight movements) airport in Milford Sound, in New Zealand's Fiordland region of the South Island. It is mainly used by tourist / flightseeing operators.
Location
The Airport is lo ...
. The drive to Milford Sound itself passes through unspoiled mountain landscapes before entering the
Homer Tunnel
The Homer Tunnel is a 1.2 km (0.75 miles) long road tunnel in the Fiordland region of the South Island of New Zealand, opened in 1953. New Zealand State Highway 94 passes through the tunnel, linking Milford Sound to Te Anau and Queenstown ...
which emerges into rain-forest-carpeted canyons that descend to the sound. The winding mountain road, while of high standards, is very prone to
avalanche
An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain.
Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...
s and closures during the winter half of the year.
The long distance to the sound means that tourist operators from Queenstown all depart very early in the day, arriving back only late in the evening. This ensures that most tourists visit Milford Sound within a few hours around midday, leading to some congestion on the roads and at the tourist facilities during the main season. The peak-time demand is also the reason for the large number of
tour boat
A tour boat is a boat used, and frequently purpose-built or adapted, for boat tours, a type of tourism frequently offered in much visited towns and cities of historic interest, that have canals or a river running through it, or that lie on a coa ...
s active in the sound at much the same time.
Over the years, various options of shortening the distance to Milford Sound from Queenstown have been mooted, including a gondola route, a new tunnel from Queenstown, or a monorail from near
Lake Wakatipu
Lake Wakatipu ( mi, Whakatipu Waimāori) is an inland lake (finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from the original Māori nam ...
to Te Anau Downs. All would reduce the current round-trip duration (which has to travel via
Te Anau
Te Anau is a town in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand. In Maori, Te-Anau means the Place of the Swirling Waters. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Te Anau in Fiordland. Te Anau is 155 kilometres north of Invercargill an ...
), thus allowing tourism to be spread out over more of the day. While a gondola is considered to be out of the running after the
DOC
DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to:
In film and television
* ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series
* ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom
* "D.O.C." (''Lost''), a television episode
* ''Doc'' (film), a 1971 Wester ...
declined approval for environmental reasons, the tunnel and the monorail proposals have applied to the Department of Conservation for concessions for land access.
There are a variety of plane charter companies that fly to Milford Sound. Most of the companies fly out of
Queenstown International Airport. These companies include: True South Flights, Glenorchy Air, Air Milford, and Milford Sound Scenic Flights.
Diesel spill
On 8 February 2004, a spill of 13,000 litres of diesel fuel was discovered, resulting in a 2-kilometre spill which closed the fiord for two days while intensive cleanup activities were completed. A hose was apparently used to displace the fuel from the tanks of one of the tour vessels, and various government officials claimed it appeared to be an act of
ecoterrorism
Eco-terrorism is an act of violence which is committed in support of environmentalism, environmental causes, against people or property.
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines eco-terrorism as "...the use or threatened ...
motivated by rising numbers of tourists to the park,
"Police probe Milford diesel spill 'terrorism
''New Zealand Herald'', 10 February 2004 though more details did not become known. The spill was removed and wildlife impact appears minimal.
See also
*Doubtful Sound
Doubtful Sound / Patea is a fiord in Fiordland, in the far south west of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. It took second place after Milford Sound as New Zea ...
*Dusky Sound
Tamatea / Dusky Sound is a fiord on the southwest corner of New Zealand, in Fiordland National Park.
Geography
One of the most complex of the many fiords on this coast, it is also the largest at 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometre ...
*Fiordland
Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, ...
*Milford Sound Airport
Milford Sound Airport is a small but very busy (in terms of flight movements) airport in Milford Sound, in New Zealand's Fiordland region of the South Island. It is mainly used by tourist / flightseeing operators.
Location
The Airport is lo ...
*Transport in Milford Sound
Transport in Milford Sound in New Zealand is characterised by the remoteness of the area in which it is located. As a popular tourism destination in the South Island, Milford Sound (the fiord) and the village of the same name receive very large ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
Milford Sound—Destination Fiordland
(regional tourism organisation)
Map Chooser
Land Information NZ Site – for downloading the Milford Sound / Piopiotahi topographic map
{{Authority control
Fiords of New Zealand
Sounds of Fiordland
Important Bird Areas of New Zealand
Tourist attractions in Southland, New Zealand