Southern Discoveries Milford Road Commentary Preview

Tiaki Promise

1. Introduction - Milford Day Trip

Kia ora. Welcome aboard your Southern Discoveries day trip to Milford Sound.Southern Discoveries is proud to be your host today on what we believe is one of the most diverse and spectacular day trips in New Zealand. We hope your day will be both inspiring and enlightening as we share with you to a very special corner of New Zealand that includes the farming landscapes of Southland and the magnificence of Fiordland.Before we set out on our journey today we would like you to give some thought to your personal safety.As we travel, the audio you are now listening to will activate automatically at points of interest along the way. It will allow us to share information about the history of this land, the varied animal and plant life found only in New Zealand, and the pioneers who discovered Milford Sound and made today’s journey a possibility.Milford Sound is one of our national treasures. It is a majestic coastal fiord in a grand, mountainous setting and has been claimed by many as the 8th Wonder of the World. On our journey to Milford, we’ll enjoy scenery that ranges from rich, fertile farming landscapes to the lush native forests and pristine lakes of Fiordland. Fiordland is the largest of New Zealand’s National Parks.Whilst Milford Sound is barely 80km from Queenstown by air, the mountainous geography means that our road trip today requires a journey of 290kms in each direction. The journey into Milford takes around five hours but includes a mid morning stop at Te Anau and a number of sightseeing stops along the Milford Road to soak in the scenery. We encourage you to sit back, relax as we share with you the sights and stories of a part of New Zealand that is so special.The first part of our journey will take us to the southern end of Lake Wakatipu which is the beautiful lake that Queenstown sits alongside. From there, we will travel into the lush farmlands of Southland before heading west to the largest lake in the South Island, Lake Te Anau, where we will stop for morning tea.From Te Anau, we will travel to the top of the lake then into the Eglinton Valley which could well be mistaken for a scene out of Lord of the Rings. An extraordinary sense of spaciousness will come over you. We will then stop to enjoy the reflections at the Mirror Lakes and then continue to Monkey Creek to take in even more exquisite alpine scenery. You might even meet our mischievous mountain parrot, the kea – not only the smartest but also the most cheeky of all our native birds.Up, up, up we will climb towards the peaks of the Darran Mountains to the entrance to the Homer Tunnel, which provides the essential link we need to get us onto the west coast of the South Island. We then descend past a cirque of mountains into the rainforest canopy of New Zealand’s west coast as we complete the final 20km journey to Milford Sound where cruising is the perfect way to enjoy the stunning scenery and marine wildlife.As we reach the Milford Visitor Terminal we will welcome you onto your Southern Discoveries cruise where you can enjoy a diverse range of lunch options while taking in the grandeur of this superb fiord.After your cruise, you will be directed back to your Southern Discoveries coach for your trip back to Queenstown. If you would prefer to take a flight back to Queenstown from Milford Sound please ask your coach driver who can book it for you. This spectacular scenic flight only takes 35 minutes but please be aware that it only operates when the weather is suitable.We hope you enjoy your day with Southern Discoveries. If there is anything that we can do to make it more enjoyable please do not hesitate to ask.If you have any questions at all about the day ahead, please ask your coach driver, we’ll be happy to help.Enjoy your day.

2. Matau & The Legend of the Lake

On our right hand side is Lake Wakatipu. All this area where the lake is, together with all of our Southern Lakes, and we have a large number of them, has been carved out by glaciers many years ago. This is also the case for a lot of the countryside that we will travel through later on as we journey through to Milford Sound. Today you're going to see what a wonderful architect ice is. It's absolutely amazing the way in which it is has carved its way through the countryside, and what it has left for us to view is really quite stunning.Lake Wakatipu is the third largest lake in NZ. Our largest lake is Lake Taupo which is up in the central North Island. Our second largest lake, and the largest in the South Island, is Lake Te Anau, which you will see later this morning.Lake Wakatipu is approximately 80 kilometres long, and 5 kilometres wide at its widest point.It is 310 metres above sea level and the deepest part of the lake is about 380 metres deep.The water in the lake is very cold. The main reason for that is, most of the water that comes into the lake, does so through several rivers that flow in near a little town called Glenorchy, up near what we call the head of the lake. Those rivers are fed directly from the Southern Alps, which is where we are going today.The temperature of the water is about 10 degrees Celsius, plus or minus about 2 degrees throughout the year, so it is not a good place for swimming. However, it is a popular lake for fishing. You can catch Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout and even some land locked Salmon in this lake.There is something else about this lake you may not be familiar with. The level of the lake changes regularly every day. This is referred to as a Seiche, (pronounced saysh).This seiche is caused by atmospheric conditions, prevailing weather patterns, and the close proximity of the mountains to the lake.What happens is, the level of the lake can change anywhere between 10 and 20 centimetres. This change can take place every five minutes, or anywhere between there and up to 30 minutes. Lake Geneva in Switzerland is another lake that has a seiche affect.The Maori folk of NZ have their own mythology about the formation of Lake Wakatipu, so I'm going to share some Maori mythology with you this morning. To do this, I'm going to tell you a wee story.A long time ago there was a Maori Chief, and he had a very beautiful daughter called Manata. All the young men in the camp wanted to marry Manata, including a young warrior by the name of Matakauri, who was Manata's sweetheart, but the chief wouldn't let them get married because he didn't consider that Matakauri was worthy.One day, along came a terrible Taniwha. A Taniwha in Maori is a giant mythical monster-like creature that lives either on the land or in the water. This giant's name was Matau. Matau came, and he stole Manata. The chief was absolutely devastated that his beautiful daughter had been stolen by this terrible Taniwha. In fact, he was so heart broken, he made a promise. He promised that whoever rescued his daughter from Matau, would be allowed to marry her.All the young men in the camp quailed at the prospect of fighting this terrible Taniwha, but for Matakauri, his love was so strong for Manata, that he decided he would be the one to go and rescue Manata. So off he went. One day, he came across Matau, and he just watched and waited, and as he was doing so, he noticed that Manata was there with Matau but she was tied to him with some very very strong cords. As Matakauri was watching and waiting, he also noticed that when the strong norwester blew, Matau would fall into a deep sleep. So when the strong norwester blew, and Matau had fallen into a deep sleep, Matakauri crept up closer and closer and as he was doing so, Manata saw him coming and she began to weep bitterly, and the tears rolled down her cheeks and they rolled right down over the cords that were holding her tight. The love that was in those tears caused the cords to dissolve and Manata was set free. Matakauri was able to come, rescue his sweetheart, and return to their village. The Chief kept his promise, and allowed them to get married.However, Matakauri was concerned that Matau was still out there somewhere, so he decided he would go and deal with him once and for all. So off he set again. One day he came across Matau, and he watched and waited, and when the strong norwester blew and Matau had fallen into a deep sleep, Matakauri crept up closer and closer and he got right up to Matau and he set fire to the bracken bed that Matau was sleeping on. The heat from the fire caused the fat on Matau's body to melt, and as the fat fed the fire, the heat became so intense it burned a huge hole in the ground and the heat from the fire caused the snow on the mountains to melt and roll down the mountains and fill the hole with water.When you look at the shape of Lake Wakatipu, you can see how it resembles the shape of a huge giant lying down, with his head up at Glenorchy, his feet down at Kingston, where we're heading now, and his knees in Queenstown Bay. And the only part of Matau that wasn't destroyed by the heat of the fire was his heart, and it is his heart that continues to beat on the bottom of the lake today, and that is what causes the seiche effect I mentioned earlier.

3. Devil's Staircase - Lake Boats

The section of road we have just come onto, and we will be on for the 3 kilometres, is called the Devil's Staircase. Ahead of us on the left hand side of the road is a ridge line that runs from the road to the top of the mountain. It almost looks like a staircase. Two early pioneers climbed the ridge, one on either side. When they got to the top, one remarked, after a very strenuous climb, “Well, that's the Devil's own staircase.”The road we are on was once a very treacherous road, and often people would refer to it as being “A devilish section of road”. It certainly is a notorious section of road, although it is very good now compared to what it used to be like. There have been about 20 – 30 cars that have gone off this section of road into the lake over the years, but no coaches, you will be pleased to know.This road that goes all the way along the lakeside was opened in 1936. Before that, if anybody wanted to drive up from down South to Queenstown, they had to go the long way around. Some people did drive up as far as Kingston, at the foot of the lake, and there they would catch a boat. At one stage there were 33 boats on this lake, taking passengers, freight and livestock between Kingston, Queenstown and Glenorchy, and also servicing the high country farming operations on the other side of the lake.Most of those boats on the lake in the early days were built somewhere around the lakeside. It was too difficult back then to build a boat somewhere else and then transport it here. When the boats reached the end of their useful life, once again it was too difficult to transport them away, so they scuttled them.There is one boat, however, that has been on this lake for a long time. It is called the TSS Earnslaw. TSS stands for Twin Screw Steamer. The Earnslaw does daily trips on the lake, mostly between Queenstown Bay and Walter Peak Station.The Earnslaw was built in Dunedin, a city on the East Coast of the South Island. When it was built the parts were numbered. After it was completed, it was dismantled and sent by rail, in three sections, from Dunedin to Kingston. Using the numbers and about 70,000 to 80,000 rivets, they put it back together again and put it on the lake. The Earnslaw made its maiden voyage on the 18th October 1912, the same year as the Titanic.The Earnslaw is not the only large passenger vessel on the lake these days. Our own company, Southern Discoveries, operates a very sleek new catamaran called the “Spirit of Queenstown” which operates 3 scenic cruises each day from the Queenstown Lake Front. All these cruises stop at the region’s largest merino sheep station at Mt Nicholas where you can meet the animals and enjoy a farm tour. These cruises offer fantastic views of the glaciated mountains at the top of the lake that cannot be seen from Queenstown.

4. Kingston

The town coming into view at what we call the foot of the lake, is Kingston. Kingston got its name from a couple of early Irish settlers who came here and named it after a town called Kingstown in Ireland. However, if you went to Ireland today, you wouldn't find Kingstown because it is now called Dún Laoghaire (pronounced Dunleary).Kingston has never been a large place, although during the days of the gold rush that began in the Queenstown area in 1862, it wasn't uncommon for about 5,000 people to be waiting here to catch a boat up to the goldfields. They had a long wait though, because back in 1862 when the goldrush started, there was only one boat on the lake, so many of the miners decided to walk the rest of the way.In 1878, a railway line was established linking the cities of Dunedin and Invercargill with Kingston. The trains brought passengers, freight and livestock to Kingston and then they would be transferred to a boat. Queenstown has never had its own railway line mostly because of the mountainous terrain that surrounds it.For many years, Kingston has been a popular holiday destination for some Kiwi families. A number of small holiday homes are still here, although there has been some change taking place in Kingston recently. New homes are now being built here to accommodate people who work in Queenstown. It is very expensive to buy property around the Queenstown area, so more people are looking for nearby towns in which to buy or build, and Kingston is one of those towns.

5. Garston

The small town coming into view shortly is called Garston, named after a town of the same name in England. The town starts with the school coming up on the left hand side. You may notice on the embankment in front of the school, the name Garston made up with white stones. Those stones used to sit on top of the ground. However, during the summer months, many years ago, young people travelling through here on their way to Queenstown would sometimes stop and rearrange the stones to make names that really didn't suit the area at all. The locals then cemented the stones into the ground to remove all temptation.Garston is well known for its brown trout fishing and the recently developed mountain biking trail. The Around The Mountains Cycle Trail passes through the town and can be seen on our left. Garston's claim to fame is that it is the most inland village in New Zealand, which indicates the relative narrowness of this country.

6. Sheep Farming

As you travel around this country, you can't help but notice we have a lot of sheep. Sheep were first introduced to NZ in 1773. They brought in a ewe and a ram to begin breeding, but unfortunately they both died as a result of eating a poisonous plant we have in NZ called the Tutu.It was not until the early 19th century that the next shipment of sheep arrived and ever since then they have been a very popular animal to farm.In the early 1980's there were just over 70 million sheep being farmed in NZ and farmers were getting quite a good return from both the meat and wool that the sheep produce. A lot of farms have been in the same family for many generations.Later on, in the 1980's, the economic returns for farmers from sheep farming deteriorated substantially. The export prices they were getting from meat and wool started to decline, interest rates went up, farming subsidies had been removed, and all of that made it very difficult for young farmers to take over the family farm. Consequently, a number of farms were on-sold, however, there are still many farms that are carrying on the tradition of being handed down to the next generation.Over the past 30 years there has been a major shift in farming practices in NZ and that shift, which I will talk more about later on, has caused a large drop in sheep numbers. There are no longer 70 million sheep in NZ. As at 2017, there were 27 million sheep, and the numbers are still declining.There are basically two types of sheep farming in NZ, high country and low country. What you can see today are typical low country sheep farms. The predominant sheep breed in the low country is the Romney. This was introduced from the UK as the Romney Marsh, and over the years has been gradually refined to better suit NZ conditions. It is now called the NZ Romney and makes up just under 50 percent of our total sheep numbers.There have been other breeds introduced as well.These sheep in the low country require a lot of looking after, especially during the lambing time, which is around August to September each year. Lambing is a very busy time for farmers, long days and quite often at that time of year the weather conditions can be absolutely atrocious.The wool from these sheep in the low country is a very course crimped wool. It is used for making carpets, other textiles and to some degree used in clothing. It is also used in the making of tennis balls.Up in the high country, the predominant sheep breed is the Merino. It originated in Spain and came to NZ via Australia. It is a very hardy sheep and better suited to the central part of the South Island, where conditions are a lot drier and the ground a lot harder. Merinos do not like the damp conditions of the low country, it is not good for their feet. They are quite vulnerable to foot rot.Lambing time for Merinos is much later than for the low country sheep, and farmers will send their merinos up into the high country and virtually leave them alone. If you disturb a merino ewe when she has a young lamb with her, she may walk away and not come back to the lamb, so farmers try to leave them alone as much as possible. Generally speaking, merinos are very good mothers.The wool from a merino is a very fine crimped wool and is used to make various clothing items in NZ and overseas. A lot of our merino wool is exported to countries like Japan and Italy where it is used to make fashion garments and suits.Merino clothing is very popular during the winter months for warmth and comfort. The garments produced are very light and not bulky and provide warmth when either wet or dry.If you happen to be spending some time in Queenstown when you return from Milford, give a thought to taking a Southern Discoveries cruise over to Mt Nicholas Station which is a very large merino sheep farm that has 25,000 merinos. These sheep provide the wool for the “Icebreaker” brand of outdoor clothing. This farm is in a beautiful setting with magnificent views to the top of the Lake Wakatipu and a three hour cruise and tour gives you a chance to meet some of these magnificent creatures, see sheep dogs in action and find out how a high country sheep station operates.

7. Deer Farming

On our journey today, you will see many deer farms. The closer we get to Te Anau, the more deer farms you will see. Deer are not native to NZ. During the mid 1800's a number of different breeds were introduced, including red deer, sika, fallow, sambar, white-tailed and rusa.In 1905, American President Theodore Roosevelt gifted some Wapiti to NZ. The Wapiti is the North American Elk. The word Wapiti comes from the Shawnee Indians of North America and means “White Rump”. The main population of Wapiti is in Fiordland.These Wapiti, together with some of the red deer already in NZ, were introduced into the Fiordland area where we are going today. In the 1920's the New Zealand Government became very concerned by the damage the deer were causing in the forest. There were two main areas of concern. Firstly, the deer were eating the young shoots growing on the forest floor, thereby preventing the natural regeneration of the forest. Secondly, they were destroying the natural habitat of a number of our flightless birds. The Government sent deer cullers in to shoot the deer and that continued for many years.With the introduction of helicopters in the 1960's the industry went through considerable change. Helicopter hunting caused many issues especially in areas normally hunted by ground shooters. There was a lot of anger expressed by ground hunters towards the helicopter hunters so it wasn't uncommon for hunters on the ground to shoot at the helicopters. Some of these helicopters had bullet holes in them. Also, hangers were burnt down, and helicopters were sabotaged.Eventually, everything settled down and they all got on with their work.When live deer capture began in 1970, operators using tranquilizer guns and nets to recover deer for the new deer farming industry because the deer meat, called venison, had become an attractive meat product to export overseas. Helicopter based shooters would leap from the skids of their hovering machines to bring down a partly tranquilized deer. There were numerous accidents and fatalities.The first licence to farm deer in New Zealand was issued in 1970, so the deer industry is a relatively young industry compared to the rest of New Zealand agriculture. New Zealand is the number one source for farm-raised venison worldwide with approximately 850,000 deer farmed in captivity. It is now the largest and most sophisticated deer farming industry in the world.NZ used to export its venison as NZ venison, but soon discovered that some people from overseas were marketing their venison also as NZ venison, because they knew how nice ours was. We now market our export venison under the trade name of “cervena”. The letters CER are the first three letters of the latin name for deer, cervidae, and VEN for venison.In order for farmers to qualify their deer meat as “cervena”, the farmed animals must meet specific criteria. The animal must be three years old or younger, it must be raised on a farm, fed only on grass, have been subject to no steroid or hormones treatment, and it must be killed and processed through a licenced facility.The male deer is the stag and it produces the antler. When the antler is in its early stage of growth, it is quite soft and velvety to touch, that is why it is called deer velvet. It is made up of blood vessels and nerves. The antler grows very quickly, about two and a half centimetres a day. If allowed to grow to maturity, it eventually calcifies and then you finish up with those spectacular antlers you sometimes see on the deer.Most deer farmers do not allow the antler to grow to maturity because they can get a good monetary return for it, so when the antler reaches a crucial growth stage, they remove it. That removal is done by a veterinarian or another suitably qualified person. Once the antler has been removed, it is frozen and eventually gets exported to countries like Japan, China and Korea, where it is used in the manufacture of various health remedies and aphrodisiac products.

8. Dairy Farming

When I was talking about sheep earlier, I mentioned how, over the last 30 years, sheep numbers have reduced from 70 million to 27 million, and how there has been a major shift in farming practices. That shift has been from sheep farming to dairy farming. The number of dairy cattle has more than doubled over the last 30 years. There are 6.5 million dairy cattle in NZ, and of those, about 5 million are milking cows.Most dairy farms in this area have been converted from the sheep or grain farms they were originally. It is a very expensive exercise requiring several million dollars. The farm is completely re-pastured (with new grass sown), trees on the property are often removed to maximise the grazing potential of the land, fences are replaced with electric fences, irrigation systems may need to be installed together with a water storage dam, effluent treatment systems are constructed, worker accommodation is required, water troughs are installed in every paddock, and a dairy or milking shed needs to be built.Water is crucial to dairy farming. During the height of summer, one dairy cow can drink over 200 litres of water a day. If there are several hundred cows on the property, there needs to be a very reliable source of water.The main controversy surrounding dairy farming is the discharging of effluent on the property. If the effluent gets into our waterways it can harm the plant and fish life. Most of our dairy farms are situated next to a waterway, such as a creek, river or stream. There are currently very tight controls around the establishment of dairy farms and the requirements for appropriate effluent control systems being installed.Majority of dairy farmers in NZ sell their milk to a co-operative. The largest of these companies is Fonterra, which is owned by over 10,500 dairy farmers, and processes around 18 billion litres of milk.

9. White Hill Wind Turbines

Another area of controversy in NZ surrounds the generation of electricity. Over the years, NZ has relied a lot on hydro generation. Most of our big rivers have dams on them, and some rivers have more than one dam. We also have Geothermal power stations up in the North Island which generate approximately 13 percent of our national output from naturally occurring super-heated steam drawn from below ground level. The north island also has gas and coal fired power stations.Over the last few years, power companies have been looking at how they can increase their generating capacity to meet present and future energy needs. Some of those companies have wanted to build more dams. There has been a lot of resistance to the building of more dams, especially in the South Island. All South Island rivers are stone based and many of them contain a lot of very fine silt. When a dam is built on a river that has a lot of silt, the silt has nowhere to go, so it begins to build up in numerous places behind the dam. Eventually this silt begins to displace the water and can contribute towards serious flooding.Power companies are therefore exploring alternative methods of power generation and one of those methods is building wind turbines and creating wind farms.Many NZer's do not like wind turbines, for various reasons. One reason is, they do not like looking at them. Another reason is, if wind turbines are built close to where people live, the noise these turbines make can be very annoying, although modern turbines make a lot less noise than earlier models. Another reason is to do with where the companies want to build the turbines. In some cases they want to build them on land that is considered to be quite special, and many people believe that by building them there, they will destroy the natural beauty of that landscape.We have had wind turbines up in the North Island for a number of years, but the companies who own them have had to fight their way through the courts to get permission to build them, and they don't always get their own way.In the South Island, we got our first wind farm in 2007, and on a clear day it can be seen on White Hill to the left hand side of the coach.This local community has willingly embraced this new technology and Meridian Energy, the company that owns the turbines, works with the community on a number of environmental projects.There are 29 turbines on White Hill. Each one can generate 29 megawatts of power, and all together, they will generate enough electricity for approximately 30,000 homes.Each tower unit is 67 metres high. There are three 39 metre long blades on each turbine. The generator components on top of each tower altogether weigh 65 tonnes.When wind speed doubles, the power available for generation increases eight times.The turbines operate at wind speeds of between 14 and 90 kilometres per hour. When the wind reaches 90 kilometres per hour, the turbine automatically turns off to prevent potential damage.This commentary will resume again as we approach Te Anau in approximately 45 minutes time.

10. Te Anau

Welcome back. We are now approaching Te Anau, which is referred to as “The Gateway To Fiordland”.The township is nestled on the edge of Lake Te Anau. Although the permanent population of Te Anau is about 2,000 people, that number can go up by 2 or 3 times during the summer months. Te Anau is a popular holiday destination for both New Zealanders and international visitors.The name 'Te Anau' is a Maori name for “the cave of swirling water”. For many years people wondered why it was called that because no one knew of any caves of swirling water around here. A local man, Lawson Burrows, was quite fascinated by this name so he decided to see if there was any truth behind it. In the late 1940’s, he set up a business on the lake, and in his spare time, he and a friend would go out looking for these caves of swirling water. They had a huge task ahead of them because there is about 500 kilometres of shoreline on this lake.They persisted though, and eventually their persistence paid off. They found some limestone caves with water rushing through them, exactly what they were looking for, but they got an added bonus. Inside the caves, they found Glow Worms, so they set up a business taking people to the Glow Worm Caves. There is still a business doing that today.Lake Te Anau is the second largest lake in NZ. It is 210 metres above sea level, 417 metres deep and 65 kilometres long.Three large fiords form arms to the lake on the other side. They are referred to as 'Finger Fiords' and are somewhat predictably called North Fiord, Middle Fiord and South Fiord. These are the only inland fiords that New Zealand has; the other 14 are out on the Fiordland coastline west of here. One of these is our destination today, Milford Sound.Please now listen to your driver for instructions about the 30 minute break we will have in Te Anau.

11. Departing Te Anau - Takahe

Te Anau is not a part of the Fiordland national park. However, all the land on the other side of Lake Te Anau is part of the Park. In terms of driving, it will take us approximately thirty minutes to arrive at the National Park.Do you remember the big statue of a bird we saw as we arrived in Te Anau?That bird is called the Takahē. This is its Maori name. It also has another name, just for those who are interested in bird names, and that is Notornis. It is one of the rarest birds in the world. It is a flightless bird, quite pretty with blues and greens in its feathers and a red beak, legs and feet. The natural habitat for the Takahē has always been the Murchison Mountains, which are across the lake from Te Anau. The Murchison mountains are about 50,000 hectares or 120,000 acres in size and the bulk of these birds live in small part of that area.For a long time, it was thought that this bird was extinct. It had been sighted back in 1898 but for many years after that no one had seen it again and grave fears were held for its very existence.Dr Jeffery Orbell from Invercargill was a great admirer of this bird. Invercargill is about a 2 hour drive South from Te Anau. Dr Orbell believed this bird was still around somewhere and that it was really just a matter of getting out there and trying to find it. While everyone was laughing at him, telling him it was gone, and it would never be seen again, he just ignored their laughter, and persisted. He would often come up here in the 1940s with his friends and go walkabout looking for this elusive bird.You can imagine their delight when, in 1948, 50 years after these birds were last sighted, Dr Orbell and some friends came across a number of them. There was great jubilation and the rediscovery made international headlines.As at 2017, there are only about 300 of these birds left in existence and approximately a third of them are here in the Fiordland national park. The rest are spread throughout NZ in various sanctuaries.The Takahe is quite vulnerable to a couple of pests we have in NZ, namely the rat and the stoat. These animals eat the eggs and the young chicks, and they have also been known to eat adult birds.To protect this bird, there are 3,500 traps laid within the Murchison Mountain area and these traps are doing a very good job.The bird will lay up to 3 eggs at a time. About 80% of the eggs will hatch, but it is a lucky occasion if an egg actually produces a live chick. The chicks are not counted as live birds until they have survived for a year.Not only do the Takahē have to put up with the rats and stoats, they also have to put up with very cold temperatures. For some strange reason, known only to the birds themselves, the bulk of these birds tend to live in the higher parts of the Murchison Mountains where it is very cold.Unfortunately because of this we also lose a lot of these birds through avalanches. Being a flightless bird, they nest on the ground, so sometimes we lose more through avalanches then we do through predation.

12. Pests: Stoats, rabbits, deer & possums

At this stage of the journey we are going to tell you about some of the pests we have here in NZ, all of which are introduced species, not native.Many years ago, the main wildlife that existed in NZ were birds, although we did have a few little reptillian type creatures like lizards, geckos, skinks and a tuatara. We also have native bats, the long tail and short tail bats, which are the only native land mammals in NZ. Apart from all that it was just birds.When the Maori came here from northern points in the Pacific they brought rats with them in their boats. Then, later, the Europeans settled here and introduced a number of other pests and the stoat was one of them. You may not be familiar with the stoat, but perhaps you know of Weasels or Ferrets. All three are related, they are all part of the Mustelid family. Their main difference is their size. The Weasel is the smallest, about 20cm/8 inches long. The Stoat is next at about 40cm/16 inches and the ferret is the largest of the three at 60cm/2 feet long.All three have long elongated bodies, which enables them to get into burrows and hollow logs where a number of our flightless birds live. This causes all sorts of problems.Another pest we have in NZ is the rabbit. Rabbits were introduced to NZ in the 19th century for food and sport. You won't find many rabbits in the National Park, although there are a few around the fringes of the Park. Rabbits don't like the damp conditions we have in the National Park so you tend to find them more in the drier parts of NZ.They can cause huge damage to pastoral land and are trapped and hunted by professional hunters. However, no matter how many are killed, rabbits still breed like rabbits, and will probably never be fully eradicated from NZ.Rabbits might look cute and cuddly and make lovely pets - but in the wild they cause devastation to crops.Another pest we have is deer. They are a particular problem in the Murchison mountains directly across the lake from here. Deer are not very good at sharing their food, and they eat a special grass that is a staple part of the Takahē's diet. This grass is called tussock.Tussock is a singular grass that grows in clumps or tufts and has long stems fanning up and outward. Each stem has a seed head and this is what the Takahe like, but the deer have been eating them.As a result, the authorities periodically have to shoot the deer to try and keep their numbers at about 250 – 300 in the Murchison mountain area. So you see folks if you don't share your food there are consequences.Another pest we have is the Brushtail possum, which is a native of Australia. They are marsupials. They're also nocturnal which means they only come out at night time to eat and do whatever possums do in the middle of the night.They are a protected animal in Australia but they are not protected in NZ. In Australia, some of their trees have poisonous leaves, some have very prickly leaves and some trees have spines that prevent the possum from climbing up. In NZ our vegetation is pretty much like a buffet meal to the Possum, everything and anything goes. They will go back to the same tree night after night and eat it to death.Possums were introduced to NZ in 1837. They were brought here to start a fur trade but the importers did not realise the amount of damage they would do to our native vegetation.At one stage, it was believed there were 70 million possums in NZ. 70 million possums can quite happily chomp their way through about 20,000 tons of vegetation every night. That’s equivalent to about 190 million hamburgers - by weight. That's a lot of food.Today, possum numbers are about 30 million. I’m not sure if we will ever get rid of them, however we have a Government that is determined to do so.During the day time, the Possum likes to find a warm dry place to go to, they don’t like the damp conditions either. They love to get into the roof cavities of buildings. Like rabbits, possums might also look cute and cuddly but they are dirty, smelly, stinking things. They leave a horrible mess behind them.Our national bird in NZ is the Kiwi. It's a flightless bird. It's also nocturnal and lives in a burrow. The Possum has been known to throw the Kiwi out of its burrow just so it can sleep there. We don't like that. It has also been known to throw some of our other flightless birds out of their nests in hollow trees and hollow logs. We don't like that either.The Possum is a carrier of Bovine Tubeculosis (TB). This is a threat to our cattle and deer industries. It means some of our cattle and deer farmers must have their herds tested on a regular basis for TB and if they get a positive result that can mean the restriction of movement of that livestock from farm to farm, and our farmers don't like that.So, all in all, we do not like the Possums, and we'll do whatever we can to get rid of them. We poison them, we trap them, we shoot them, and we run them over. The only Possum you're likely to see today are the one's sunbathing in the middle of the road.

13. Manuka

On both sides of the road you will notice some trees that have long narrow trunks on them. They also have a dark green and grey colouring.Captain Cook and early settlers called these ‘tea trees’. The Maori name for the tree is Manuka.These trees can act as an important tool for re-vegetating bare, eroded slopes. By creating shade and shelter from the wind, they provide an excellent nursery for other, slower growing native plants. Then, as these other plants get taller and overtop them, the mānuka dies away as a result of being shaded.Captain Cooks men discovered this tree when they landed in Dusky Sound in 1773 aboard the Resolution. Dusky Sound is south of Milford Sound and they were there for about 5 months. They found it to be a great place to stock up on fresh water, fresh fish and good timber for doing repairs to their ship.The tree has a small prickly leaf on it and if you use a teaspoon of leaf from a young tree you can make a substitute for tea.You can actually do that with a number of trees and plants in NZ.Perhaps more importantly for Cook’s men they also discovered that you could brew twigs from this tree with rimu (another native tree) to make beer.The early Maori used this tree for a variety of purposes. The oil, the bark, the sap and the leaves contain an antibacterial agent. They were used to make a poultice that was good for healing wounds. The steam from leaves boiled in water was inhaled for head colds. The tree was like a veritable chemist shop for them.The tree comes out in a little pink or white flower between November and February and it is from this tree that we get Manuka honey. It is a different honey to the more conventional honey you can buy. It is a darker colour and much thicker.In recent years some scientists in NZ have taken interest in the honey and have done considerable research into its health benefits. They have discovered that, of all the different strains of Manuka, one particular strain has a very high concentration of antibacterial compounds in the honey.As a result, a scale has been developed to rate the potency of manuka honey. The rating is called UMF, which stands for Unique Manuka Factor.When you look at the jars of Manuka honey, you may see the letters ‘UMF’ followed by a number on it. You can find UMF 2.5, 5, 10, 15 & 20. The higher the UMF rating, the greater the level of antibacterial compounds in the honey and the more expensive it will be as well.For many years, Manuka honey has been used as an alternative medicine. Today, it is also very popular in conventional medicine in NZ and is used in a variety of ways in hospitals and medical centres for treating various ailments.You will find many forms of Manuka salves and tablets available for sale in tourist outlets around NZ, as well as in many mainstream pharmacies, and even supermarkets. It is worth trying as a salve on skin conditions and is a very nice honey on toast as well.

14. Te Anau Downs - Milford Track

The area we are now coming to is called Te Anau Downs. This is the official starting point for the Milford Track. Someone once coined the phrase, ‘The Milford track is “The finest walk in the world”. Being a four day walk it certainly takes you through some spectacular countryside.You will see a jetty down on the water where the boat leaves to take walkers up to the head of the lake where they begin their walk.The track was opened in 1889 after a lot of good work by two men in particular.Donald Sutherland from Milford Sound was one and I will talk more about him later. The other was Quintin Mackinnon.Mackinnon was a Scottish/New Zealand explorer and tour guide who had emigrated to New Zealand sometime in the 1870's.He came to NZ, eventually made his way to Te Anau, and liked the place so much he stayed. He spent the rest of his life here before drowning in Lake Te Anau in 1892; but not before doing some great work developing this walking track through to Milford Sound.The Milford track is 53.5kms long and takes 4 days and 3 nights to complete. It is open all year round, with a winter and summer season.During winter, you would need to have had experience in Alpine conditions and very good clothing and equipment to undertake the walk.The Summer season is generally Oct/Nov to April. During the Summer season there are two options for doing the track. Firstly, you can do it as part of a guided walk in a group of about 50 people. You carry a pack with spare clothing and other personal items you will need.All your meals are supplied, plenty of hot water for showers and nice accommodation to sleep in. Costs vary and begin at approximately $2000 when doing it this way.Secondly, you can do it as an independent walker. You would be in a group of 40 people. You carry your own pack, including your food and cooking utensils, and you cook your own meals. If you want a shower, you'll have to find yourself a water fall. The accommodation for independent walkers is in very basic huts with bunks – dormitory style, so you get to sleep with many other people many of whom have not bathed for some days!Obviously, the cost for independent walkers is much cheaper. Accommodation costs are $70/night and then add on any coach and boat fares.The track can only be walked in one direction, which is from this end to Milford Sound.Today approximately 14,000 people walk the Milford Track each year making it one of the most popular multi-day walks in NZ.If you plan to walk the Milford Track in the summer season, you really need to book it well in advance.

15. Haast Eagle

Did you know that NZ once had the largest Eagle in the world? Well you do now. And we say ‘had’ as it is extinct. It was called the Haast Eagle, quite a big bird, weighing around 13kgs with a wing span of around 3m. The Haast Eagle was a different kind of eagle to the American Bald Eagle. The Bald Eagle is very much a soaring eagle which soars around in the sky looking for its next meal before swooping down and grabbing it. The Haast Eagle was more of a flapper then a soarer, its body weight was way out of proportion to the size of its wings. It tended to sit up on a high perch somewhere waiting for its next meal to come along. It had amazing feet and legs, very powerful legs that could withstand high impact and the talons on this bird were over 6cm long.It’s preferred menu item was the Moa, which was a flightless bird that came in a variety of sizes from about goose size right up to about 4metres high. The moa was like an ostrich or emu on steroids.You can just picture this Haast Eagle sitting up on its high perch waiting for dinner, maybe a Moa that was stuck in a swamp. It always preferred its food to be slow moving. It would swoop down at about 80km's an hour, hitting the Moa with huge impact, crushing its bones and internal organs and ripping the flesh from the Moa with its very powerful beak. The Haast Eagle was quite capable of taking on a Moa that weighed up to 200kgs.If you are up in Wellington, it is worth a visit to Te Papa, our National Museum. There you can see the skeletal remains of a Haast Eagle with its talons firmly imbedded in the skeletal remains of a Moa.Eventually both the Moa and Haast Eagle became extinct. It is believed that the early Maori hunted the Moa to extinction within about 100 years of them coming to NZ. The Moa was a great source of food for them and they used the feathers for their cloaks. When the Moa died out the Haast Eagle also begun to die out as its main diet consisted of birds, especially the Moa.

16. Eglinton River - Fishing

Coming up on our left hand side is the Eglinton River. This is a very good fly fishing river, as are most of our rivers in NZ.In the Eglinton River, there are Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout and if you’re lucky you may catch a ChinookSalmon. These fish are not native to NZ. The Brown Trout was introduced from the UK, and the Rainbow Trout came from the Russian River in California.The Chinook or Quinnat salmon are native to the north-west coast of North America, and north-east Asia. New Zealand remains the only place in the world where Chinook salmon have become established successfully outside their natural range. In the early 1900s they were introduced from ova sourced from the McCloud River in California.If you want to try some trout, you will have to catch it yourself because you are not allowed to catch and/or sell them on a commercial basis in NZ. You will also need to buy a fishing licence which is not difficult to get.We will catch glimpses of the Eglinton River as we drive all the way up the Eglinton Valley ahead of us until we arrive at its source which is Lake Fergus.

17. Cabbage Tree

Coming up shortly on our right hand side, you’ll see some trees that are quite different to the trees you have been looking at so far. These trees are native to NZ and called Cabbage Trees.You’ll notice each tree has a number of heads on it and during the Summer some of these heads come out in a lovely golden coloured flower. They are said to be the largest tree lily in the world, although there has been some dispute about that. You will notice more on the left hand side. Quite often when you see these trees growing in a group like this, it is an indication there may have been a Maori village somewhere around here in days gone by. The Maori used these trees quite extensively. They were a great source of food, fibres, sugars and medicine. The leaves were made into tea to cure diarrhoea and dysentery.There were parts of the tree that required proper preparation in order for it to be both palatable and digestible. If you didn’t prepare it properly, you may as well have eaten an old boot because that’s how tough it would had been.The leaves on the tree are very strong and water resistant. When the leaves are green they can be woven together to make things like mats, sandals, baskets, bags, rain capes, anchor ropes, and they were also used to thatch the roofs of their buildings.When the leaves are dry, you can take a handful, tie them up with another leaf, and use them as kindling to light fires.The trunk on the cabbage tree is very fire resistant which was an attribute that the early settlers quickly discovered. So fire resistant in fact, that the early settlers could take the trunk from cabbage trees, hollow them out, and use them as chimneys for their huts.

18. Fiordland National Park

Coming up shortly on the left is a green and gold sign that says, ‘Fiordland National Park, Te Wahipounamu, South West NZ World Heritage Area’.We are about to enter the Fiordland National Park. Te Wahipounamu is Maori and means ‘The Place of Greenstone’. Greenstone is exactly that, it’s a green stone. It’s actually a form of nephrite jade and the Maori name for it is Pounamu (pronounced Po-namu). When we get to Milford Sound you will see a large slab of Greenstone in its natural state on display in the terminal building. The Greenstone that was sourced from here came from Anita Bay, which is right out the far end of Milford Sound. You will be going out there on your cruise today.Further up the west coast of the South Island is another type of greenstone, and the Maori used it for different purposes. Some of it was quite brittle so they used that for art and crafts, some was used for jewellery, and the harder stone was used for making tools and weapons.The Maori would walk from all over NZ, all the way down here to Anita Bay. Some would come up or down the coast in their Waka, or canoe, to get the Greenstone they needed. They only took what they needed, then they would go all the way back to their villages again.Fiordland National Park is 1.2 million hectares in size and together with a couple of neighbouring parks, Westland National Park and Aoraki Mount Cook National Park, they were all given World Heritage status back in 1986. In 1990 another neighbouring park, Mount Aspiring, was also given World Heritage status making a total area an area of about 2.6 million hectares as the south-west NZ World Heritage Area. It is about 10% of NZ's land mass.To get world heritage status isn’t easy, it is granted by UNESCO which is part of the United Nations. There are around 900 places around the world that have world heritage status either in terms of landscape values or cultural values. For us to get World Heritage status here, we had to meet at least one of four different criteria. Well this place is so special, we met all four of them.That was due in part to the mountains here. Apart from their scenic value, these mountains are constantly evolving. There is a fault line that runs right along the Southern Alps and those are what you can see in front of us now. The fault line runs virtually the length of the South Island.It’s also where two tectonic plates meet, (the Indo Australian plate and the Pacific plate) and the two plates are constantly rubbing each other up the wrong way. As a result, we get many earthquakes in this area.The other aspects that make this area special are the rivers, waterfalls, glaciated valleys, birds and plants. The waterfalls here are absolutely stunning – when it’s raining. When it’s not raining, you may see some waterfalls as we drive along. Those are usually the result of snow melt. In Milford Sound you will see some permanent waterfalls.Today, we will drive through three different glaciated valleys and you will see others as well.There are 2000 species of trees, plants and ferns in NZ that are found nowhere else.There were 174 species of birds breeding in New Zealand before human arrival that were found nowhere else. That includes those that are now extinct.The National Park is administered by the Department of Conservation, affectionately known as DOC. They certainly understand the special nature of the area and they also know how popular it is, and how important it is to NZ and the world.Because of the areas remoteness, DOC have made it possible for people to come here and spend more than just one day. They have set up a number of picnic and camping spots along the way, so you are allowed to camp here, but only in the areas designated for camping. Camping sites have very limited facilities available, a toilet and a picnic table. The toilets are what we call, a ‘long drop’. It’s just a big deep hole in the ground with a seat on top. But you do get quite a nice view.The Eglinton River provides fresh water for campers and plenty of fish in the river for breakfast. The camping areas are very popular in the Summer time. Many people stay overnight in their campervan, or pitch a tent.We are about to come into the main part of the Eglinton Valley. This is just one example of a typical Glaciated valley, it is U shaped and has steep mountains on either side. It got its name from the Earl of Eglinton who came from Ayrshire in Scotland. His name is all over this area, the Eglinton River, the Eglinton Valley, and on our left hand side the Earl mountains. As we enter the main part of the valley, you will appreciate how big the Glacier was that carved this valley, it was huge.

19. Beech Trees - Beech Mast

Something you will see a lot of today are trees. The predominant species of tree here is Beech.New Zealand has five species of beech trees - Red Beech, Silver Beech, Black Beech, Mountain Beech, and Hard Beech. However, there is another one too. You will notice a number of young trees growing along the roadside. These are called 'Sons of Beeches'.Some Beech trees can grow up to 30 metres high and can live for several hundred years.These trees are referred to as being Southern Beeches and are of the genus Nothofagus.About every 4-5 years, the Beech tree gives off a huge amount of seed. That year is referred to as a Beech Mast. During a Beech Mast the mouse and rat populations literally explode, because the seed is a wonderful source of food for them. When that happens, the Stoat population increases because they like to eat the mice. If you are fishing in a river somewhere near a Beech Mast, don't be surprised if you catch a fish, open it up, and find it full of mice.When the Beech mast has finished and all the seed has been eaten up, the mice population dies off very rapidly and the stoat is left looking for alternative sources of food. Unfortunately in these circumstances the stoat turns its attention to our bird population, and in particular the flightless birds. Stoats have had a devastating effect on our birds. Because stoats can climb trees, they have also had an impact on other birds by eating the eggs and young chicks still in the nest.There are very comprehensive trapping processes going on all the time to catch the stoats as well as possums and rats.The Stoat is a nasty, vicious little creature. They kill for the sake of killing, not because they are hungry, but because they can.As we drive along the road, you can see some stoat traps, mostly on the left hand side. They are rectangular wooden boxes and have a trap at each end because stoats often travel in pairs and we like to accommodate both of them.Our next stop is at a place called the Mirror Lakes. In ideal conditions you see a beautiful reflection in the water of the Earl Mountains on the left hand side. It's also a lovely walk through some magnificent Beech trees growing tall and straight.The coach will stop so you can get off and take a short walk along a boardwalk to the other end, where the coach will pick you up again.

20. 45th Parallel - Knobs Flat

Our next stop is about five minutes along the road. We will come to an area known as ‘Knobs Flat’. Interesting name, isn't it? That’s what you call an oxymoron. It’s called Knobs Flat for two reasons, firstly, it's flat, and secondly, the Knobs refer to some moraine or rock and debris deposits left after the glacier had moved through here many years ago. You will get a better glimpse of the moraine deposits after we leave Knobs Flat.When we get to Knobs Flat, this will be out last bathroom stop before arriving in Milford Sound. If you need to use the bathroom, please do. If you haven't thought about it yet, well, just go anyway.Coming up very shortly on the left-hand side you will see a small green and gold sign saying, ‘Latitude 45 Degrees South’. We are about to cross the 45th parallel. This puts us exactly halfway between the south pole and the equator.During our journey, you may notice some trees that have fallen over. Sometimes the weather conditions can be such that many trees will be blown over. Also, Beech trees tend to rot from the inside out as a result of a fungal infection, there is virtually no topsoil here and the trees have a shallow root system, which means they can fall over very easily.You can be looking at a Beech tree that is growing tall and straight and think, wow, what a lovely tree, but it could be rotten on the inside and about to fall over. You may know some people like that.Shortly, we will arrive at Knobs Flat. Remember, this will be our last bathroom stop before we arrive at Milford Sound.Inside the building are some information panels you may find informative.

21. Leaving Knobs Flat

One of the great things about coming to an area like this is, you can wander around in the wide open spaces, walk up and down the river and do some fishing, you can bring a campervan or pitch a tent in the camping areas or, if you want to, you can sleep out under the stars, anywhere you like, anytime you like. And you can do all or any of those things without any fear of being devoured in the middle of the night by some wild creature. We are very fortunate in NZ, we don't have any Scorpions, Lions, Tigers, Wolves, Bears, Hyenas, foxes, nothing like that at all. I think perhaps the most dangerous thing we would have in NZ would be......our politicians.Out on the left hand side you can see some of the moraine deposits I mentioned earlier. That is how this place got its name, they are literally the “Knobs on the Flat”.

22. Ferns

In NZ, we have just over 200 different varieties of ferns, from the small filmy fern that grows about 2 centremetres long, up to the big tree ferns that can grow over 10 metres high. Ferns do not have leaves, they have what's called a frond. When that frond is in its early stage of growth, it is curled up in a tight spiral and the Maori name for it is Koru. You will often see the Koru used as a motif in marketing and advertising in NZ. Air NZ have the Koru on their aircraft and they also have the Koru Lounge for members.As the Koru grows, it uncurls itself and you finish up with a long straight frond.One of the ferns we identify a lot with in NZ is called the Silver Fern. It is called the Silver Fern because on the under side of the frond it is a silvery colour and the early Maori used it a lot at night time. They would cut the fronds from the tree and lay them down on the ground upside down to mark their tracks and pathways. At night time the moonlight would reflect off them and help them to find their way.You won't find the Silver Fern in the Fiordland National Park. It does not grow on the West and South of the South Island.The fern is a very handy companion when you are out in the bush. You can cut the fronds off the smaller ferns and use them to make a nice soft mattress to sleep on. So long as you cut enough of them, you can have a very comfortable sleep. The fronds from the bigger tree ferns, which you will see as we get closer to Milford Sound, can be used to make a nice bivouac to shelter under.

23. Kea

Hopefully today, we might be able to introduce you to a special bird we have called the Kea, (spelt K.E.A). It is a native of NZ and is the only Alpine parrot in the world. Being an alpine parrot, they prefer the colder temperatures, so you’ll find them all along the southern Alps.The Kea is a very cheeky, inquisitive, and intelligent bird. They are said to have the intelligence of a two year old human. So that's got to be a worry for a start. They love to come down to the roadside where people park their vehicles. They will come right up to you and check you out, but what they really want is your food. If we do see some, please do not feed them. Sometimes people feed them kinds of food which is not good for them. Some have been known to die because of the type of food given to them.These birds used to be an Insurance company’s nightmare. The reason for that was, older model motor vehicles had a much softer rubber on the outside of the vehicle than do modern vehicles. If an older model vehicle has been left unattended in Kea country, these birds will descend upon the vehicle with great joy. They will pull the rubber out of the windscreen wipers and tear it up. They will pick out all the rubber from around the windscreen so the windscreen falls out. Any soft pliable material on the outside of the vehicle that they can get their beaks onto, they will, and they will destroy it and they think it's fun.If you are camping in Kea country, you will have sleeping bags and food with you. Kea love sleeping bags, not so they can keep warm and dry, but so they can tear them to pieces. With your food, if you think it will be safe in something like a cardboard box or one of those tins with a push on lid, think again. These birds have been known to remove the tops from screw top jars.You can never ever trust a Kea. They are real opportunists and very intelligent indeed.Their nests have been found with all sorts of interesting things around the outside of them. Everything from diamond rings to hubcaps off cars, anything they can carry away.A while ago there was a coach parked up near Milford Sound and the driver had one of the locker doors on the side of coach open and a Kea got in there, picked up a courier parcel, and flew off into the bush with it. Inside that courier parcel was someone’s passport. The owner of that passport, who happened to be a manager in our company, was not a very happy camper. Our immigration department is currently on the lookout for a Kea travelling with a false document.

24. Lake Gunn / Davey Gunn / The Divide

Coming into view on the left-hand side is Lake Gunn which was discovered by George Gunn, a runholder, in 1861. The lake is 480 metres above sea level and you can fish in here. There are both Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout.We used to have another character by the name of Gunn who lived around this area a while ago.His name was Davey Gunn, no relation of George. Davey came from further up the South Island. He was married with three young children, 2 girls and 1 boy. Back in the 1920’s when he was also in his 20’s, he came down here to have a look around. He fell in love with the area, so much so that he left his family behind and spent the rest of his life down here. He spent most of his time in the next valley we come to which is the Hollyford Valley.Davey started off doing some cattle farming at a place called Martin's Bay which is just north of Milford Sound. While he was in Martin's Bay, he decided to develop a walking track from there, back through the Hollyford Valley, to join up with the Milford Road. Along the way he built some huts, and then he invited people to come and walk the track. He charged them for it too. Davey was always looking for an opportunity to make money.Quite often Davey would join them on their walks which he quite enjoyed. He loved to sit around the camp fire at night and tell a few stories, and a few lies no doubt, but he did like to educate people about the bush. He firmly believed that if people were educated about the bush, they were more likely to respect it.Davey had what you might call a rather interesting sense of humour. One year, he needed some help to do some track and hut maintenance so he placed an advertisement in a national paper advertising it as a “Free holiday for two weeks for a group of young men”. It’s never hard to get a group of young men to go on a two week holiday, especially when its free. These guys turned up, Davey put them to work, and when they had finished, Davey was very pleased with the work they had done, so he said to them, “Well lads, did you enjoy that”? And they said, “We had a wonderful time, it was just great”, and Davey said, ‘Well, in that case, I'm only going to charge you half price”. They all willingly paid up half price for their supposed free holiday. That's the sort of guy Davey was, he never let a chance go by.Soon we will come to another lake which will be on our right-hand side called Lake Fergus.One of the things that Davey was most remembered for was an amazing feat he carried out in December 1936. He was in Martins Bay at the time and a small aircraft was coming in to land on the beach, as they did. As it was making its approach, it got caught in a very strong crosswind and crashed. A young journalist was killed and the rest of the passengers received a variety of injuries. There was a nurse on board and she was able to help the injured as much as possible, but realised that some needed to be evacuated to hospital. There was no way of contacting the outside world from Martin's Bay in those days and the nearest telephone was a three day walk away, back where the Hollyford valley joins up with the Milford road. Davey knew where the telephone was, and he also knew he was probably going to be the one who would have to go and get some help. He was used to walking through the bush, although at a very leisurely pace. So off he went, and the amazing thing is, he did this 90 kilometre, 3 day walk in 20 hours. Quite incredible actually.He got back, made the call and they sent another aircraft in which landed safely on the beach and evacuated the injured to hospital. In recognition, he was awarded King George VI's Coronation Medal in 1937.Also, in recognition of his achievement, a tablet has been constructed where the telephone used to be. Davey lost his own life here in the bush. On Christmas Day 1955 he was out riding a horse, and had a young 12 year old boy on the horse with him. As they were crossing the swollen Hollyford river, the horse lost its footing and they were all washed away. Davey’s body has never been found so it is quite fitting that he is still lying buried somewhere in this land he loved so much.While he was in the Hollyford Valley, he set up a camp known as Gunn's Camp. Originally, this camp was set up for workers who were building another road in the area. Eventually the camp was abandoned and in 1951, Davey bought it and restored it. The camp is still operating. You can drive a campervan down there, use one of the original huts to stay in, or pitch a tent. There is also a small store and museum at the camp.The area we are coming to shortly is called “The Divide.” This is not a Continental Divide because NZ is not a Continent. This is an Island. The Divide is the lowest pass between East and West in the Southern Alps. As we cross over the top, we will be about 530 metres above sea level. This is the starting and finishing point for several walking tracks, notably, the Routeburn Track, which goes between here and the head of Lake Wakatipu, near Queenstown.

25. Milford Road / Fuchsia Tree

The road from Te Anau used to go as far as Te Anau Downs which is the starting point for the Milford Track that we saw earlier. During the years of the depression, the government decided to extend the road beyond Te Anau Downs and towards Milford, so the work was done under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Department, affectionately known as the “PWD”. They started work in 1929 using men who would otherwise have been unemployed. These men were employed on a contract basis so they only got paid for the work they did and they didn’t work when it was too wet, so some of their weekly pays didn’t have a great deal of money in them. All they had to work with was picks, shovels and wheelbarrows, and the hardest part was all the way from the divide to the bottom of this hill. They had to blast their way through a lot of rock, and then shift it.They were expected to work 6 days a week, and the 7th day, that was for cutting firewood, doing the washing and all those other exciting tasks you do on your day off.Some of the men brought their families with them and they lived in a camp at the bottom of the hill, called Camp Marian. Others came here leaving their families behind.They had to put up with some very harsh conditions here, especially during winter when there was a lot of ice and snow on the roads, a lot of rain and cold miserable weather. Some sections of this road don’t see any sun for about 3 months of the year.As we drive down the hill you will notice some low growing trees on the right where the wood has a lovely copper colouring. This tree is a native and is called the NZ Fuchsia. It is the largest tree fuchsia in the world. It is a deciduous tree, losing its leaves in winter. Between August and December, the tree develops beautiful purple flowers and is a popular food source for birds and possums.Coming up on the left hand side, at the bottom of the hill, beside a green and gold sign, is the tablet that I mentioned earlier. This is where the telephone was that Davey used to make his phone call.

26. Pop Andrew Avalanches

From this point in our journey, and right through to just before Milford Sound is avalanche territory. During the winter and early spring, there is often no stopping allowed on this section of road because of avalanches. The last avalanche fatality on this road was in 1983, when a road worker called Pop Andrew was killed.As a result of Pop's death, they decided to implement a Milford Road avalanche programme so that no-one working or driving on the road is ever put in an unsafe position. This has become one of the best avalanche monitoring teams in the world. They do an amazing job trying to keep this road open all year round. They’ve got monitoring equipment on the top of the mountains on both sides of this valley. If they think there is a risk of an avalanche they will go up in a Helicopter and drop25 kilogram bags of explosives on the snow to create an avalanche. Then they have to clear the road and reopen it.The river on our right hand side is the Hollyford River. This is a good fishing river that has Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout and Salmon. The river is also popular for white water kayaking.Coming up on our left hand side is a waterfall called Christie Falls. Hopefully the coach will drive slowly so you can take a photo.When you look at the steepness of these mountains and their close proximity to the road, you can understand why avalanches are such a big risk in this area. This is the only roading network in the world that has the kind of issues that occur here.There are 2 types of avalanches that occur here. One is called a ‘Wet Avalanche.’ Without getting too technical, that is when the snow on the side of the mountain gives way. It comes crashing down into the valley making a huge amount of noise, does some damage to the vegetation on the way down, and covers the road. The second one is called a ‘Dry Avalanche.’ With a dry avalanche, it's not the snow that causes the damage, it’s the wind that the falling snow generates. That wind can be up to 300 kilometres an hour. It has incredible force behind it. It can pick up a 16 tonne bulldozer, turn it upside down, and throw it 40 metres down the Milford Road. That is what happened the day Pop Andrew was killed. One of his staff was driving the bulldozer and fortunately survived the incident. Unfortunately, Pop Andrew, who was walking nearby, was killed.Dry Avalanches are also known as “Plunging Avalanches.” Sometimes during winter, snow falls on a regular basis and as it falls it lands on top of the previous snow and binds together with it and sits on top of the mountain. There can be up to 2 metres of snow on top of these mountains in what is called the 'Start Zone' for avalanches. There is not a lot of snow on the sides of the mountains because they are too steep.However, during most winters, snow falls on an irregular basis, for example you might get a big dump sometime in June and then it could be 1-2 weeks before the next lot of snow arrives.When that next lot of snow falls, it lands on top of the previous snow, but can't bind together with it because the previous snow has now turned to ice, so it sits on top and creates a layering affect.In the Spring time when the temperatures start to warm up and we get a considerable amount of rain, that rain gets into the snow pack and it becomes very very unstable. What can happen is, a large block of snow and ice will slip right off the top of the mountain, falling into the valley without touching the side of the mountain. When the snow lands at the bottom of the mountain, it causes a powerful blast of compressed air that will rip some trees out by their roots, and cause others to be snapped off like match sticks.The dry or plunging avalanche is also known as the Silent Killer. Whereas the Wet Avalanche makes a huge amount of noise, the dry avalanche makes virtually no noise at all.When the workers were digging the tunnel further along the road, three of the workers lost their lives when two of these avalanches came down. After that there was always someone on avalanche watch, standing there looking upwards for any sign of a dry avalanche.These avalanches can produce up to 5,000 kilopascals of pressure. For comparison, only 15 kilopascals of pressure is needed to break a car’s windscreen.The last uncontrolled avalanche occurred here 10 years ago which indicates that the controlled avalanche safety system is working well.

27. Homer Tunnel

When Henry Homer came up this way in 1889, he got right up to the top end of the Hollyford Valley ahead of us and he was confronted by a huge rock saddle which now bears his name, the ‘Homer Saddle’. He looked at it and thought ‘Wow this would be a great place to build a tunnel and connect Milford Sound with Te Anau'. Everyone agreed and thought it was a wonderful idea. Even the Government agreed but was not sure how it would tackle such a challenging project. Nothing happened until 1935 when the Government was looking around for employment schemes to address the unemployment situation in the great depression. The work was done under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Department (PWD). They initially sent 5 men up here with picks, shovels and wheelbarrows. It would have been interesting to see the looks on their faces when they got here and were confronted by a huge saddle of solid granite rock, and all they had were picks and shovels. The PWD realised their dilemma so what did they do? They sent another 100 men with their picks and shovels and then a year later got serious and sent in the heavy machinery.When work began on the tunnel in 1935 the workers were living in canvas tents and later in relatively primitive buildings. The area’s isolation, high annual rainfall, and heavy winter snowfall meant living and working conditions were often extremely difficult for tunnellers and road gangs.Avalanches, the weather, and World War Two all caused significant delays with the Homer Tunnel project. It was not until February 1940 that ‘hole-through’ was accomplished.The first private car was able to drive through the tunnel in 1954. The tunnel had taken 19 years to complete.Although the tunnel is large enough for a coach and a smaller vehicle to pass, meetings involving two coaches or large campervans can be extremely difficult.Because of these difficulties, the tunnel is now controlled by traffic lights.The tunnel is 950 metres above sea level, is 1.3 kilometres long and on a gradient of 1 in 10. For every 10 metres we drive, we will drop 1 metre.On the right hand side you will get a view of the Gertrude Valley and on a clear day you can see the Gertrude Saddle at the far end of the valley.You may have noticed as we have been driving through the National Park, trees that have light green stuff hanging off the branches. That is called old man’s beard. There are different types of old man’s beard, this one is the lichen type.Because they prefer trees already beginning to die, the lichens are often unjustly blamed for killing the tree. Many lichens, such as this one, grow rapidly when exposed to full sunlight, and that is why they are often seen on dead or dying trees.

28. Fiords and Sounds

Captain John Grono discovered what we now know as Milford Sound in the early 19th century and named it Milford Haven after his home town in Wales. Captain John Stokes later renamed Milford Haven as Milford Sound.Technically and geologically speaking, it is not a Sound, it is a Fiord. Two theories why it is called a Sound rather than a Fiord are; firstly, when the early folk came here, they were not familiar with Fiords and Sounds and probably didn't know there was a difference between the two. Some may never have heard of the word Fiord let alone know what it meant. Secondly, if you were to call this Milford Fiord, it was considered to be a bit of a mouthful, so all fourteen 'Fiords' have been called Sounds. There is a big difference between a Fiord and a Sound. A Sound is a drowned river valley, is generally V shaped, not very deep, and has hills on either side. A Fiord is carved out by a Glacier, is U shaped, very deep, with steep mountains of either side. In both cases, many years ago, when the sea level rose, they back filled with water.Milford Sound, at its deepest point is approximately 375 metres deep. The deepest Sound in Fiordland is Doubtful Sound, which is approximately 430m deep at its deepest point.All the marine life in the Sounds lives in the top 40 metres of water because below the 40m mark it is simply too dark. The reason it is too dark is because of the high rainfall. The rain washes all the tannins and nutrients off the forest floor into the water, so the water gets a very brownish colour to it. The top few metres of the Sounds can be fresh water. The amount of fresh water depends on how much rain there has been. You can sometimes get up to 10 metres of fresh water on top the Sounds. All the Sounds are linked to the Tasman Sea.

29. Tree Avalanche

When you look up at the Mountains around here you can see a lot of trees growing on the sides of the mountains. There is virtually no top soil here, those trees are growing on solid rock. The very first thing that grows on the rock is lichen, and then the moss begins to grow, and eventually little trees will take root in amongst the lichen and moss. They draw their nutrients through them. The tree roots will then find the cracks and crevasses on the rock face and some will intertwine with the roots of other trees and they hold on to each other like one big happy family. What happens is that periodically there is a very heavy downfall of rain, which can go on for days. On the top of these mountains there are big craters on the edge of the mountains that catch the rainwater. Eventually they fill up and overflow and the water starts flowing down through the trees on the side of the mountain. As time goes on, the volume of water increases, and the trees at the top get saturated with water, causing them to fall over. As they fall, they have a domino effect, taking other trees with them as they slide down the mountain. This is what we call a Tree Avalanche and can bring down an enormous amount of material in one event, often clearing vegetation from an entire rockface. You will see evidence of this all around Milford Sound today with the scars being evident on the mountain walls until regeneration of the trees takes place all over again. You can see one of these right beside the Visitor Terminal at the Milford Sound wharf.

30. Milford Sound

Shortly you will arrive in Milford Sound. The Māori name for Milford Sound is Piopiotahi, after the native thrush - piopio - now extinct.In Milford Sound you are at sea level with an average annual rainfall of and incredible 7-9 metres. It rains for about 180-200 days a year at Milford Sound, making it one of the wettest places in the world at sea level. This is caused by the predominant south westerly flow of “polar maritime” air that hits New Zealand on the south west corner. The up-lifting of the air flow as it hits the southern alps causes this very saturated air to quickly cool leading to large amounts of precipitation.The waters of Milford Sound are the home to an abundance of wildlife that makes for some spectacular viewing. Your crew on the boat will point out any wildlife that is visible during the cruise.Rudyard Kipling one described Milford Sound as the eighth Wonder of the World.Bathroom facilities can be found inside the terminal building and on board your boat.On behalf of Southern Discoveries, thank you for choosing us today as your coach and cruise operator. I trust you enjoyed your coach ride into Milford Sound this morning. Enjoy your cruise; we look forward to seeing you again after the cruise for the return trip to Te Anau and Queenstown.

Specials

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