Milford Sound is surrounded by spectacular waterfalls. We took a small tour boat that carried us out into the sound where we could visit them up close.
Today marks the beginning of my Wednesday photo series. Over the next month, or year, or several years, I am going to begin to post photos from around North America and the world. What else can you do with 76,000 photos? (grin)
I am starting off in Milford Sound. If you travel to New Zealand and then travel down to the South Island, and then travel even farther down to the southwest corner of the island, you come to the world-famous sound. It is a fame well deserved. These photos were taken the old-fashioned way, with film. I had to scan them into my computer so the quality isn’t quite the same, but the beauty of the area makes up for it. Enjoy.
This is a view you have when driving into the sound.
A view of Milford Sound and the surrounding mountains. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)
One of the waterfalls.
Another of the many falls. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)
I was intrigued by this small rainbow caused by water dripping off the cliff.
One of the things about the west coast of the South Island is that glaciers are never very far away. Peggy and I took a helicopter ride up from the sound to this mountain top. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)
We were allowed to get out of the helicopter and wander around. I took this photo of cracks in the glacier. That’s it for today. Next Wednesday, we will visit the island of Santorini in the Mediterranean Sea.
NEXT POST: I kick off my book on MisAdventures, whereupon I am kicked out of the first grade for a year and use foul language when falling off a cliff in a bulldozer.
Wandering through Time and Place 
Oh yes! South Island was a great place for us too! We sure are looking forward to your sharing of the rest of the island that you’ve touched!
There are lots of New Zealand photos, Suan, but most of them are still in slide and film format. If and when I get the time, I transfer them to my digital collection. New Zealand is one of the earths special places. –Curt
We absolutely agree. All of ours are in film format. We scanned them into digital quite some years back.
Good pictures, Good Blog idea. I have never been to NZ but my son is there now on a travelling gap year and he sends me lots of wonderful pictures just like these!
Thanks, Andrew. There are many, many beautiful places in New Zealand. I have many more that need to be transferred from film and slides to my digital collection.
Good for your son! I had to think what a “traveling gap year” was, but then I decided it was a break from regular work. Back in the days when I was still working, I took ‘traveling gaps’ every 3-5 years for 6 months to a year. I regarded them as sanity breaks. –Curt
I never had the courage to turn in my job and do it Curt!
I was always lucky enough to have something waiting on return.
Fear of the unknown future is the destroyer of dreams!
Yes it is, Andrew. In fact, people will often live in bad situations because they know what to expect. –Curt
You caught Millford Sound on a rare calm day. When we were there, the wind was blowing at its normal hurricane force.
It came up later, Craig. 🙂 Somewhere I have a photo of my hair streaming behind me. It was rather long at the time. –Curt
That last shot if absolutely wonderful.
Thanks, AC. Having lived in Alaska, I’ve visited several glaciers, but there was something about how the glacier was showing its cracks fascinated me. I was quite pleased how the photo turned out. –Curt
Standing in front of such beauty must leave you speechless. I certainly am, just from your photos alone. Gorgeous. And the rainbow is a wonderful catch.
In awe, Carrie. I’ve been fortunate to travel to many beautiful places in my life, and Milford Sound is among my favorites. –Curt
I agree with Carrie, these photos – each one of them – leave me speechless. And I guess as you stand there you don’t say much. Just drink in what you can contain.
Santorini next, that I know. Nearer to home for us.
Thanks for the beauty
Miriam
There is a great deal of beauty in New Zealand, Miriam, both on the south and north island. But even there, Milford Sound is a very special place. Thanks. –Curt
Magnificent, Curt.
Even though the old scanned photos might not have the color clarity of a new digital, they still show the magnificence of the location.
The beauty is hard to deny, Ray. It even sparkles in black and white. I have a lot of scanning to do but fortunately, the price of taking and processing film photos always limited the number that I took. 🙂 it would be more like a hundred on a trip instead of a thousand! –Curt
Spectacularly beautiful, Curt.
Yes it is Gerard. I definitely want to go back but with Australia included! My first trip there was part of my six month tour around the South Pacific in 1976. I had included Australia then but didn’t make it much farther than Sydney. –Curt
We’ve been to New Zealand three times,, but never farther south than Christchurch. That has to change. Love your pics.
I’ve been there three times as well, Peggy, twice for extended trips (the first was in 1976). One was to preview a route for a bike trek on the South Island that I was organizing. Thanks much. –Curt
Only 76,000 photos, Curt! 😀😀 These are stunning and I love the one with the rainbow as the water cascades over the waterfall…just perfect. As for the glaciers, wow! I never knew there were any in New Zealand and it must have been amazing to land in them and the one of the crack in the glacier is full of atmosphere and haunting.
Further up the west coast of the South Island, it gets even stranger, Annika. You walk through a tropical rainforest right up to the base of the glacier! Peggy and I do tend to go a bit over-board when it comes to taking photos and I am the more guilty! 🙂 The cracks in the glacier has always been a favorite of mine. –Curt
Your New Zealand photos are welcome, for sure. We’ve thought about a trip to NZ, and these sights to see are right up there with the best of ’em. But the waterfalls are no more dazzling than the ones you’ve shown in Oregon, or even the ones we saw on the tourist trails of Oregon. You’ve definitely seen some gorgeous sights/sites.
Peggy and I are both enamored with waterfalls, Rusha. They call to us. 🙂 –Curt
That last photo is marvelous. It reminds me of the work of Lawren Harris, one of the Group of Seven who portrayed Canada so wonderfully well.
I checked out Harris, Linda. The man certainly liked his snow covered mountains and glaciers and was able to capture their unique beauty. There are few places in the world where glaciers are as accessible as they are on the South Island of New Zealand. Thank you. –Curt
Milford with blue skies – what luck! I also did the helicopter thing when I was there, Fox Glacier if I recall, still my one and only helicopter ride. I remember the pilot going straight up to get through a cloud layer on the way to that glacier landing pad, that blew my mind as much as the scenery.
We did luck out with Milford. It’s kind of like going to Alaska and seeing Denali.
I remember the straight up, too, Dave! I’d forgotten it until you mentioned it. Thanks. –Curt
New Zealand is definitely on our list. Even though the photos are scanned they are incredible. I like your idea of the photos on Wednesday. Santorini is one of our happiest destinations so will look forward to that!
I’ve been down there three times, Sue. And could easily go again!
I’m having fun with the photo idea and have already seen it free up time for working on my book. –Curt