This is the road to Milford Sound/Piopiotahi. I took this photo on a moody autumn morning when the road was empty and quiet, except for the occasional sheep grazing by the side. I was captivated by the contrast between the rugged peaks and the smooth surface of the road mixed with the vibrant colors of nature.
As you drive into Milford Sound/Piopiotahi, you may well decide that the drive itself is better than the destination. And that’s saying a lot, believe me!
I think one of the best unofficial hikes is right around Monkey Creek here. It’s certainly worth parking your car and spending a few hours walking around the area. Even without your camera, it’s still a feast for the eyes.
Here’s another one of the images from my 1000 Stories from 1000 Places NFT drop. It sold out in minutes, but they are now available to trade on OpenSea and X2Y2, etc so be sure to check them out.
Choppy made a stop at the airport in Milford Sound (Piopiotahi) to re-fuel the helicopter so we could keep the flight going longer. It was a super-long day of flying with nearly five hours in the air. I’m not sure how much fuel a helicopter can hold, but we were flying pretty hard so probably about three hours worth… By hard flying, we actually had two helicopters up, one equipped with an awesome externally mounted cinema camera, as we were flying from location to location working on a video project.
Here’s another one of the images from my 1000 Stories from 1000 Places NFT drop. It sold out in minutes, but they are now available to trade on OpenSea and X2Y2, etc so be sure to check them out.
Imagine seeing this if you were one of the great sea explorers of yore!
This is the entrance to Milford Sound from the Tasman Sea. It would have been so amazing to come across this and wonder what it was like up inside the fjord. And then, the captain could just decide to sail up inside and land some boats on the shore. Maybe if they were a little hungry, they could even grab a few Moas and cook ‘em up. After a long sea voyage, nothing goes down smoother than a Moa.
Here’s another one of the images from my 1000 Stories from 1000 Places NFT drop. It sold out in minutes, but they are now available to trade on OpenSea and X2Y2, etc so be sure to check them out.
There are approximately 4,000 places to stop on the drive from Te Anau to Milford, and this is one of them. It’s kind of a must-stop! The scene is crazy-powerful, and it changes throughout the day. I’ve noticed sometimes in the morning it is foggy and hard to see, but it’s still interesting even then. When planning car-trips in New Zealand, it’s best just to add a few extra hours into the experience!
Here’s another one of the images from my 1000 Stories from 1000 Places NFT drop. It sold out in minutes, but they are now available to trade on OpenSea and X2Y2, etc so be sure to check them out.
When the sun started going down in Milford Sound, I figured I was going to start using up a lot of memory cards and boy was I right that day…
Here’s one of the images from my 1000 Stories from 1000 Places NFT drop. It sold out in minutes, but they are now available to trade on OpenSea and X2Y2, etc so be sure to check them out.
This was maybe my tenth trip to Milford? I always have a lovely and different sort of time there. I’ve never seen it so starry, though!
I had on two layers, which kept out most of the cold. Actually, now that I think about it, the weather was perfect. My body was quite warm and bordering on too-warm, but my face was open to the ice-cold air, which kept everything perfect.
This spot is about a four-hour drive from my home. The edge of New Zealand is filled with fjords and drama, carved by the quirky Slartibartfast. Not only is it surreal here, but it feels like the edge of the earth and that humans are not supposed to be walking along its shore. There is every kind of earth and water here.
Milford Sound, New Zealand
TreyRatcliff.com
I shared a work in progress of this not long ago. Now here is the final version! I recently did a road trip down to Milford Sound/Piopiotahi for a few nights to see what I could capture. I usually just stay for one night, but I thought I might as well take a few more chances. It was so beautiful down there. One day was sunny and one day was rain. It’s almost better with the rain because you see thousands – literally thousands of waterfalls. It’s like Jurassic Park or something. This is a panorama made out of about 10 photos or so and this version is 15k pixels across.
Been working on this one for a while now… nearly done, I think. Will share the full res when it’s complete… it’s over 30k pixels wide! 🙂
