Milford receives the largest rainfall in the whole of NZ, up to 9 meters a year.  We took a  four hour tour by boat around the area.  Just before we arrived and while we were there it was pelting which wasn’t so nice but created a spectacular deluge of cascading waterfalls all along the trip.  We were expecting to see seals, dolphins and penguins but at times it was too dangerous to step out on deck to look and in the end we saw absolutely nout.  We really enjoyed the trip but it was damn expensive to get there and the tour.

Anybody out there that loves waterfalls, this is your mecca.

The area is a trampers heaven with over a hundred walks varying in length and grades. We arrived early in the afternoon so had time to fit in a gentle two-hour walk.  The next morning we headed off for a 4–hour walk into Hooker Valley where we took the majority of these photos – we’ll let them speak for themselves. The last one is a little spooky, on the peak of Mt Cook you can see a face in the background – it doesn’t look very happy.

For us the park was one of the most enjoyable areas we have been to in NZ – awe-inspiring scenery and very relaxing. Amazingly, we met Janneke and Danny, a Dutch couple we had previously met while trekking the waterfall way in Australia.  We are really enjoying their company and have agreed to spend the next week or so touring together.