This corner of nature will leave you speechless
Most people dream to visit the world one day. Some of us just want to know more about the world we live in. The most popular touristic attractions are probably the Himalayan Mountains, the Egyptian pyramids and the African savanna. Those are of course great destinations. But don’t you think a place that has remained hidden from the entire world until not long ago, would be more interesting? You must have heard about the Norwegian fiords. But did you know about Fiordland National Park and Milford Sound in New Zealand? If you didn’t, it’s time to find out. The National Park was made a World Heritage Area in 1986 when the United Nations became aware of the invaluable beauty of the region. It was described as having `outstanding examples of the earth`s evolutionary history’ and `superlative natural phenomena`. The Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Area was extended in 1990. Since then, three new regions have become part of its surface: Fiordland, Westland and Mt Cook national parks. Fiordland has been, until the last century, one of the least-explored areas in New Zealand. Milford Sound on the other hand, became an international touristic attraction. This fact contributed to the discovery of the Mackinnon Pass in 1888. This pass later became part of the Milford Track. About 60 years later the Homer Tunnel was build. From then on the National Park became accessible to tourists and researchers. Milford Sound is a 15km long waterway running inland from the Tasman Sea. It is part of the grandiose Fiordland National Park. This fiord of peerless beauty and natural majesty was named after the Milford Haven region in Wales. The deepest part of the fiord is 400m. It is surrounded by sheer rock faces as high as 1,200m. Milford Sound registers annual rainfall of close to 7m. This statistics make it the wettest populated place in New Zealand and one of the wettest in the world. The Maori indigenes gave a different name to the area. They called it Piopiotahi, which means thrush or place of the singing thrush. According to the legend, Maui lost mankind’s treasure of immortality to the goddess of death, Hine Nui Te Po. When this happened a thrush flew into Milford Sound singing and mourning the loss. The Maori legends also state that the majestic landscapes of Fiordland were carved by the god Tu Te Raki Whanoa. The beauty of this corner of nature will leave you speechless once you see it.