新西蘭旅遊篇之一 米爾福德峽灣 New Zealand adventures part 1 Milford Sound

This is part 1 of my New Zealand trip, a country that I’ve wanted to visit for a long time.
我一直都很希望到新西蘭走一趟，現在終於來到了。這是我這次遊記的第一篇。

After my 42 hour trip, I landed at Queenstown in the morning just in time for lunch. I read that there was a very popular burger place in Queenstown called Fergburger which opens 21 hours a day and is always very busy. Luckily we got there before lunch and there were less than 10 people queuing up. Half an hour later we were tucking into our yummy burgers and the review wasn’t wrong at all! Here we are having our lunch by the lake, we had to gather around our food to stop the seagulls stealing our chips!
經歷42小時之旅程，我到抵達皇后鎮剛好是午飯時間。聽說這裡有一家很熱門的漢堡飽店Fergburger，每天開21小時都總有人在排隊。我們馬上出發，到達時幸好只有大慨10個人在等着，不到30分鐘我已買到很豐富美味的鮮羊肉漢堡飽。我們在湖邊野餐，但要很小心圍在食物四周，因為有很多海鷗在天空盤旋，想偷吃我們的食物!

Next day we went to Milford Sound, despite it remoteness it is one of the most visited tourist spot in New Zealand. On the way, our coach driver stopped quite a few times for photostops, and showed us some unique natural surroundings . Here are some photos of the scenic route.
第二天，我們去米爾福德峽灣。雖然它比較偏遠，但它還是全新西蘭其中一個最多人去的旅遊景點。沿途上，司機停了好幾次讓大家拍照，又向跟我們介紹不同的大自然生態。這就是路上拍的照片。

This is The Chasm, the volume of the water from the mountains flowing down to the river over the years has eroded the stones making some lovely smooth round indents on the surface.
這是 The Chasm，多年來，山上的水湧到河流裡，把大石磨到很滑，有些表面還型成一個個小圈圈。

Here in this forest, the pressure from the wind over the years has twisted these trees into a swirl.
在這森林裡，多年來的強風在裡面打滾，把大樹幹也吹到像摟毛巾一般。

This is the native mountain parrot the Kea, and they are endangered as there are only between 3k to 7k of them. They are one of the most intelligent bird. You can see the tag on its foot as they are all protected and monitored now.
這是山區野鳥Kea 屬鸚鵡科, 是擁有極高智慧的鳥類之一。牠們正瀕臨絕種，只有大概3000-7000隻，所以腳踝都跘了記號方便監察。

After nearly three hours drive we arrived at Milford Sounds for our cruise. It is said that Milford Sounds rains for about 200 days a year, but see how glorious the weather was, I was so lucky
經過3小時車程，終於來到米爾福德峽灣碼頭，準備登上觀光船。聽說米爾福德峽灣每年會有200多天都在下雨，但你看這天，天色多美好，我覺得我很幸運。

The cruise lasted for about 2 hours and we cruised about 15km towards the Tasman Sea. The skipper said if we were to continue sailing we would get to Australia in about 5 or 6 days time.
觀光船遊覽兩小時，從碼頭出發往塔斯曼海方向，全程約15公里，船長說如果繼續往前去，5至6天後就可以到澳洲。

We passed by 2 waterfalls during the cruise. This is the 162m Lady Bowen Falls nearby by the cruise terminal and it provides the water source and hydroelectricity for the local surroundings.
途中我們經過兩個瀑布，離開碼頭不久看到Lady Bowen Falls。這瀑布高162米，既美觀又實際，因為它為附近地區提供水源及水力發電。

The other one is my favourite, the Stirling Falls and is fed by the glaciers behind the mountain. The skipper said we were going up close and personal to see the Sterling so I went to the ‘you jump I jump’ spot on the ship hoping to get some good shots. As we got near to the Sterling, I saw the top part of the waterfall was hitting the rocks quite hard and I could literally feel the force of the waterfall. The middle section was like a thick layer of mist gushing downwards, whilst the bottom section right in front of me was a cool refreshing mist splashing all over me. During those few moments, I was so overwhelmed by this beautiful sight, sound, feel and touch around me, I can’t even find the words to describe it but it was surreal.
令我最迷惑的是另一個瀑布Stirling Falls，它的水源來自山後的冰川。船長說會把船駛近瀑布，所以我馬上走到船頭希望可以拍到些美照。當船隻駛到越來越近瀑布時，我看到上半部的水很大力地拍打在石頭上，被它的澎湃威力震懾着。打在石頭上的水像一層濃霧在空中飄逸，很美。瀑布下段水花四濺輕輕打在我的臉上，那感覺很舒服。在瀑布前這一剎那，那視覺，聽覺，觸覺，感覺我不知怎麼形容(主要是因為我沒文彩)，總之就是非常奇妙的感覺吧。

It’s time to say good bye to Milford Sound and the end of my first couple of days in New Zealand. Keep posted for my other posts on my New Zealand trip.
回到碼頭後要跟米爾福德峽灣道別，新西蘭之旅第一篇也在此告一段落。請留意我之後的帖子。