Just Stunning - a photo on Flickriver

Just Stunning

All Aout Mitre Peak: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitre_Peak,_New_Zealand
We left Queenstown to make our way to Milford Sounds. Stopped in Te Anau for morning tea and to buy some lunch for our day trip. We we will be staying at Te Anau for the night.

Arrived at Milford Sounds just in time for our boat trip. Day five of our fast trip around the South Island with my friends from the UK. November 5, 2013 New Zealand.

Milford Sound (Māori: Piopiotahi) is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey (the 2008 Travelers' Choice Destinations Awards by TripAdvisor) and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination. Rudyard Kipling had previously called it the eighth Wonder of the World.

Milford Sound is named after Milford Haven in Wales, while the Cleddau River which flows into the sound is also named for its Welsh namesake. The Māori named the sound Piopiotahi after the thrush-like piopio bird, now extinct. Piopiotahi means "a single piopio", harking back to the legend of Māui trying to win immortality for mankind - when Maui died in the attempt, a piopio was said to have flown here in mourning.

Milford Sound runs 15 kilometres inland from the Tasman Sea at Dale Point (also named after a location close to Milford Haven in Wales) - the mouth of the fiord - and is surrounded by sheer rock faces that rise 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) or more on either side. Among the peaks are The Elephant at 1,517 metres (4,977 ft), said to resemble an elephant's head, and The Lion, 1,302 metres (4,272 ft), in the shape of a crouching lion.

Milford Sound sports two permanent waterfalls all year round, Lady Bowen Falls and Stirling Falls. After heavy rain however, many hundreds of temporary waterfalls can be seen running down the steep sided rock faces that line the fiord. They are fed by rain water drenched moss and will last a few days at most once the rain stops.

With a mean annual rainfall of 6,813 mm (268 in) on 182 days a year, a high level even for the West Coast, Milford Sound is known as the wettest inhabited place in New Zealand and one of the wettest in the world. Rainfall can reach 250 mm (10 in) during a span of 24 hours. The rainfall creates dozens of temporary waterfalls (as well as a number of major, more permanent ones) cascading down the cliff faces, some reaching a thousand metres in length. Smaller falls from such heights may never reach the bottom of the sound, drifting away in the wind.

Accumulated rainwater can, at times, cause portions of the rain forest to lose their grip on the sheer cliff faces, resulting in tree avalanches into the sound. The regrowth of the rain forest after these avalanches can be seen in several locations along the sound.
Taken From and for More Info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milford_Sound

Any one interested in following our trip around the South Island.. here is a map: <a href="http://www.wises.co.nz/l/lewis+pass/#c/-41.801671/172.516537/8/"

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Taken in: New Zealand / Southland / Jamestown (show map)

Taken on: November 6, 2013

Tags:

New Zealand

South island

NZ more »

lanscape

Fiordland National Park

South West New Zealand World Heritage Area

sky

clouds

mountains

Milford Sound

Mitre Peak

fjord

sea

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plants

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Sets appears in: • Milford Sound • Fiordland National Park NZ more » • Trip with Brenda & Lee • Mountains in the South island of New Zealand • South Island NZ • Nz Landscape « less

Groups appears in: • Landscape Exploration • New Zealand Group(Anything taken in New Zealand) more » • Zodiac Awards * Post 1 - Award 3 * *Sweeper Active* • Your Best Shot For Today • Click a Pic [ post 1 - award 5 ] - SWEEPERS RUNNING « less

Camera: Pentax K10D, f/4.0, 1/180 sec, 18mm (=27mm), ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Pentax K10D
Lens:	TAMRON XR DiII 18-200mm F3.5-6.3
Aperture:	f/4.0
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/180)
Focal Length:	18mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm)
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Shutter speed priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Contrast:	High
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4.4 (Windows)
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