Milford sound/Piopiotahi - exploring by kayak
It was October 2021, the time I explored Milford sound from a kayak. I started this blog years ago but life got in the way and I never got around to actually publishing it and I can’t believe it has been that long since that special overnight trip in Milford. I absolutely loved this trip and it is something that I would love to do again. This was not my first time visiting Milford sound/Piopiotahi but it was by far my favourite time! Since visiting Milford sound the very first time, we have wanted to come back with our very own kayak to explore the area further. This area is great to explore but there are unfortunately very few companies that stray from the 2 hour boat trips out of Milford. There is only so many times can do the same tour before it gets a bit repetitive. The first times visiting Milford we did not have a kayak of our own, so we had tried kayak tours and boat tours. When we finally had our own kayak we eventually made our way down to Fiordland and started planning for our overnight trip in the fiord. Our friend Jack came down to join us and he was kind enough to pick us up at the end of the Hollyford track that we had spent a couple of days on. Now that is another story to tell and that hike was nothing like I expected it to be.
After a refreshing night at the Milford lodge (which I can highly recommend!) and a pancake breakfast, we started to get ready for our kayak trip. We made our way down to the basin to get all of our gear ready. While doing this, we saw two whio/blue ducks fly by which was a great start to our trip. We had hoped to stay 2 nights in the fiord but due to bad weather coming, there was only room for one night. We decided to paddle out and see how far the day would take us and make the most of it. The aim was to get to the campground right at the entrance of the fiord. Due to very strong westerlies pushing us back, we did not make it all the way out. Instead we enjoyed a paddle around the area, saw a bottlenose dolphin from afar and were immersed in the natural beauty of the place. In the afternoon we made it into Harrington Cove and looked for a place to set up for the night. We found the perfect spot and decided to pitch our tents to rid some of the weight in the kayaks.
We did a loop around the cove and met with many tawaki/fiordland crested penguins that were foraging throughout the day. We had an amazing afternoon observing these charismatic birds. As soon as the sun went behind the tall mountains (which happens early) we were greeted by the infamous blackflies/sandflies. Geared up with mozzie spray we managed to keep them at bay. With the tall mountains all around us, every sound echoed through the mountains. We could hear and see kea flying high above the tree tops, the screeching of the tawaki, and as the evening came around, there was silence all around us as the tour boats had finished for the day. We started up a bonfire which helped to keep the sandflies at bay, got the whiskey out and enjoyed some time after our camp dinner. We were rewarded with a beautiful starlit sky and with no-one else in the area, you feel like you are the only person in the world. We fell asleep to the sound of tawaki screeching in the night.
In the morning we could hear the avalanche alarm test in the early morning hours. We had a fairly poor sleep in the tent, as we had not invested in a proper tent and had picked up a small second hand tent that would survive the night. It did, as did we. After a breakfast we packed up our gear and paddled back out on the water. We had a few more encounters with tawaki as they were coming out to feed for the day. We paddled further out and made our way to Sterling falls where we had a stunning and slightly wet view. We were greeted by some New Zealand fur seals who hung around to play by the kayaks for a bit. It was a beautiful and sunny day on the water. In the afternoon hours we slowly made our way back to Blackwater basin feeling great after such a wonderful day on the water. We packed our belonging back in the van and slowly made our way out of Milford in the late afternoon.
