After leaving Dunedin, which is on the Southeast side of the South Island we traveled around the bottom of the island and into Fjordland National Park. A fjord is defined as a U-shaped glacier-carved valley which has been flooded by the sea. This area has achieved World Heritage Status. It is known for its dramatic fjords, spectacular waterfalls and snow-capped peaks. It rains there 320 days a year and we were there on one of those days. That was actually lucky because it is on those days that the waterfalls are so full and dramatic.
We were able to sail through two fjords in the park. The first was named Doubtful Sound because Captain Cook was doubtful whether they would actually be able to sail in and out.
The second was named Milford sound and the most famous one. There is some helicopter dropped lodging in the fjords and many miles of hiking trails are all through the park.
The fascinatinng thing about the rainforest walls is that the rock is hard with no dirt surface so unless a plant is able to get into a crack it attaches to other plants and clings on impossibly on the mountain front. When a plant does tumble who areas come crashing down together because they are not rooted into anything except each other.
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