Milford Sound Lodge

Hello all,

I apologize about having not blogged in a while. I have been busy working my new job at Milford Sound Lodge.

So, picking up where left off: I hired a car to drive from Christchurch to Queenstown (about a 6-hour drive). I got a low, "relocation" rate for the car because rental companies always need cars moved around. I payed $5 (plus a booking fee) for the car. The drive to Queenstown was beautiful and the sky was completely sunny and blue.

You pass several lakes along the way that are this aqua blue color– the result of finely ground glacial sediment that washes into it. This is Lake Pukaki that beautifully frames Mt. Cook (to the right of me) which is the tallest mountain in New Zealand. It is part of the Southern Alps.

I didn't stay in Queenstown for too long (not even a day), so I didn't get any pictures of it. I will be visiting the city often during my four-day work vacations.


The lodge rigged up a free seat on a tour bus that picked me up from my Hostel in Queenstown and drove me to Milford (stopping several times along the way). It is about a 5-hour drive, but took a lot longer because of the "tour" part of it. The driver was very knowledgeable and it was nice learning about the area and New Zealand in general via his headset microphone as we drove. We stopped for a couple hikes and a wildlife center to see some of New Zealand's unique birds.

I took this picture from the parking lot during the tour. Beautiful valleys like this one surrounded us during the drive, and surround me now at the lodge. You can imagine the glacier sliding along this valley during the last ice age shaping it into what you see here.

This region of New Zealand is actually the third wettest area in the world. It averages around 7 METERS of rain per year!!! Needless to say, it rains every day, but not for that long. As a result of all the rain, we have countless waterfalls, like this one, that cascade down the mountain faces beside us.

The rainforest that fills Fiordland National Park (within which the lodge is located), is green with trees, ferns, moss, and lichens.


The wildlife (or should I say birdlife– New Zealand has no indigenous land mammals) is also rainforest-like. This is a Kea. It is the only alpine parrot in the world and is extremely intelligent and mischievous. Since birds filled all the niches that weren't filled by mammals, this bird is kind of like America's raccoons; they get into the garbage and terrorize things.

Another picture of a Kea perched on the bus.


The bus dropped everyone off at Milford's boat terminal where everyone else was leaving for a cruise, but not me. This was my final destination for the next five months. I snapped a picture because... WOULDN'T YOU!?!

Milford Sound Lodge is located up the road about 15 minutes by foot, but luckily a girl named Charlotte gave me a lift. My backpack is oversized ;) The lodge is remote to say the least. The nearest town, Te Anau– a town of 3,000– is about an hour and a half drive down a two-lane paved road that weaves through a deep valley carved out by glaciers. There is no cell phone reception here, but we have internet and TV. This is a picture of me posing in front of a couple of the lodge structures. The building in the background is the private staff building (called Saigon). It is where our shared kitchen/dining room/living room, two bathrooms, and living spaces are. The building in the foreground is the men's and women's bathroom.


This is a view from the other side of Saigon.


This is one of the three "rapid room" buildings (as they call it). My room is the second from the left. It is as simple as can be.


This is what my room looks like inside. I have one window and two dressers. I also have an electric heater that keeps me warm at night. I will soon also require a dehumidifier.


The bathrooms are a short walk from my room. There is a guy's and girl's room. Right now, I share the guy's room with one other person, but we will get more people filling up the other rapid rooms soon. The bathroom consists of one flushable toilet and one shower. I was pleased to find the shower has hot water and great pressure, but is really small.


This is the main lodge with reception, the lounge, the guest kitchen, eating area, a small shop, guest laundry, and most of the guest rooms.


Here's another view of the main lodge.


And a closer look at the main entrance to the main lodge. Reception is right through this door.

That's all for now.

Cheers!