8th wonder of the world

Okay, so lots of times you’ll hear that places are the 8th wonder of the world. That’s what the guide books call it. All I can say is that it is very special, spectacularly beautiful, hauntingly mystical and very spiritual. It is Milford Sound, and all the hyperbole that we’d heard about the place is in fact true..it’s stunning. Carved by a glacier the sound has a 3 meter (10 feet) thick layer of tannin-filled fresh water on the top of the salt water of the sound which is an offshoot of the Tasman Sea. Because of this fresh water on top of the sea water, what’s below is called “Deep water emergence.” Sunlight doesn’t penetrate the layer and so marine life which ordinarily operates at 50-100 feet deep can be found just below this fresh water layer.

This area which receives more than double the total annual rainfall of the Amazon rainforest, more than 200 days of rain, and up to 10 inches (30 cms) of rain in a single day naturally has some pretty spectacular waterfalls cascading down from the sheer cliffs. There’s a reason this is called “Fjordland,” and indeed it did remind us of Norway. I do think for the sheer, literally and figuratively, magnitude and number of the fjords, Norway is incomparable.

Tour buses descend upon the sound from Te Anau on the road which leads nowhere else by the dozen…I know this because I was behind nine of them on our return trip back to our room in Te Anau….very slow going for the 2+ hour run. Several companies run cruise ships in size from 75-200 people but this still doesn’t detract from the incredible vistas. You get up close and very personal with several of the waterfalls and they capture the water from some as they pass underneath and serve waterfall water to the passengers to drink. Another very special aspect is the underwater observatory. This observatory drops from water level down 30 feet to see natural sealife without any restrictions since they are in their environment and not in an oversized aquarium. We watched the weather carefully and booked the only sunny day in the week and it was just magnificent…The early morning fog gave the place a very mystical atmosphere and gave way to brilliant sunlight throughout our three hour cruise up and down the sound. Another noteworthy aspect of our last couple of days was the realization that the dead forests we had seen were not caused by pollution nor by the bark beetle as we had wondered, but rather as an overt effort to return the hillsides to their natural environment. Farmers had planted large tracts of pines and other species for lumber and these began to wreak havoc with native species by spreading their seedlings far and wide. So the government has been on a concentrated kick to spray the trees and kill of all non-native vegetation…as they say, it can look like hell for a long time, but in the end it will be beneficial and has shown very positive progress in several areas. Our drive on any given day is a series of contrasts…sometimes we are totally enveloped by a hovering canopy of beech trees which block out the sunlight to an extent that early morning drives require headlights. It’s like driving down a vegetative tunnel. This will suddenly end and open up suddenly to wide swaths of farm land dotted with those ever present white spots in the form expansive sheep ‘farms,” as they refer to them…We would call them sheep ranches, but here they are farms. Other times the trees are so close to the road and so tall, it is like they are huge pylons driven into the ground in a straight line on both sides of the narrow road. We will have a Servas family in a couple of days, and I’m curious to find out more about the economic situation here. Having thought that all was hunky-dory with things, I picked up a magazine which stated that the middle class is sinking, and not too slowly, because of the high cost of life here. This dairy producing nation pays more for a quart of milk than we do for a gallon…go figure. Also the government has slashed the environmental budget by 85 per cent…Can you say New Zealand “tea party?” I always find that my learning curve takes many different forms when I travel, and as usual, my short-term visits just lead to more questions than answers. A diversion around another Tahoe-sized lake led us to a visit to a sheep shearing museum and brought us into contact with a retired shearer who monitored the small exhibition. He was happy to share his experiences and since we had our own peanut sized flock in comparison he seemed to enjoy talking about his favorite subject with someone who had more than just a rudimentary knowledge of sheep. He told us that he had been able to travel the world as a shearer paying for his journeys with the money had made shearing. Because European flocks were so small in comparison he found the work easy and rewarding. European farmers paid more per head than in NZ and he had a good life. He talked about the various breeds to be found and got into the hows and whys of sheep farming. Very informative and very interesting stuff.. I’ve mentioned before how kids from all around the world come here on work/travel visas. They find jobs in all aspects of the tourist industry, from restaurants and bars in areas that have high tourist traffic to reservation agents for the various tours. Most that I’ve talked to come for six months and wind up staying for a year and extending their visa for another year. 23 months is the maximum time they can stay, and NZ is so full of wonderful places to explore that they aren’t ready to go home before they have fully maximized their options. There are over 80 of them alone at Milford Sound. There they are so isolated from their normal connected life …no cell phone service and 2 computers in their dorm with dial-up only basically means no internet connection. It requires a real change in mind set to do it, but it’s a good way to earn money and not spend it. They work 10 days and have 4 days off, but it’s two hours to get to Te Anau where there are normal facilities. The companies provide all food in large communal food storage lockers – one for frozen meat, one for fruits and veggies, etc. It’s easy to tell by the various accents when you encounter them throughout NZ. I am very pleased to see this opportunity available to young people and that the spirit of adventure and travel lives in the hearts of so many. Sign of the day: Stock effluent disposal