Milford Sound

These flowers, which looked like huge lupine, covered the valley floors as we drove in towards Milford Sound.  It was a bit of a curvy drive in, and longer than we expected, but it was beautiful.  We made it without stopping until we saw the Kea from the previous posting bouncing around a little turnout.  They are incredible birds.  They are the only alpine parrot and their intelligence compares to that of a chimp.  They have been known to kick snow off a cliff and fly out to see if they hit anyone, and then repeat that until the people below don't think it is as funny as they do.  They like to chew on soft stuff like the rubber on windshield wipers and tents.  Anyway, we stopped to watch them for a minute and then made it in time to get on our boat about three minutes before it left (a little close but not unusual).  
It was raining on and off while we were out on the Sound.  They say there are only four permanent waterfalls, this being the first you pass.  On the day we were there the waterfalls were to numerous to count, literally feet apart all falling quite a distance down the rocky, forested walls around the Sound.  I've never seen so much water, it was truly incredible.
This was another one of the permanent waterfalls which they actually stick the bow of the boat under.  Legend says that if women are touched by even a drop of the water it will make their faces appear to be ten years more youthful.  The ladies standing down there in the picture may or may not have lost some wrinkles, but they definitely didn't expect the boat to go forward as far as it did, and they were screaming and running seconds after we took this picture. 
One of these long cracks which water is often running down is actually where the two techtonic plates meet below New Zealand.  Obviously they are the cause for the mountains along the west coast and they said they are stilling raising about an inch and a half per year.  
We were lucky with weather.  The rain made the Sound so incredibly mystical and yet the sun came out for spells of the trip so we could be up on the deck with blue skies and water falling all around us.  
Waterfall after waterfall after waterfall.  Easily one of the most beautiful places I have seen.

Cheers Johnny