Wellington, May 27: At the height of the southern hemisphere`s summer about 2000 tourists a day visit Milford Sound, a 15km long fiord at the western foot of New Zealand`s South Island.
Although it nearly always rains – it has the country`s highest rainfall, averaging more than 6200mm a year – everyone agrees Milford is one of the most stunning sights on their New Zealand holiday.
Waterfalls plunge from mountain-locked valleys down vertical rockfaces into the fiord.
Mitre Peak towers about 1700m above tourist boats sailing the fiord. But the grandeur of Milford Sound is not easily accessible.
There are just four ways to get there – by light aircraft, helicopter, bus or shanks`s pony – but the two former are expensive and the unpredictable Fiordland weather can make services unreliable.
The bus travels from the nearest town Te Anau, 125km away, there is also a three-day walk on the famous Milford Track through the mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, forests and rivers of the region`s national park.
Foreign tourists, anxious to make the most of their time in New Zealand, go to Milford on a day trip from the lakeside mountain resort of Queenstown – a must for every travellers. It is a tiring 12-hour round trip by bus and local entrepreneurs have two alternatives which cut three hours off the return journey.
Both are imaginative and controversial. Both would start with a boat trip on Lake Wakatipu and finish with a shorter bus ride to the sound from the Te Anau-Milford Rd.
Visitors also use the world`s longest cable car ride – 12.6km in three cableways across the Greenstone River Valley.
The second plan involves a 35km-long monorail over the pristine forest treetops.
Bureau Report
