canon t5i @ 20mm | ISO 125 | 1/30 | f/5.6

Milford sound is one of those places that looks unearthly, it’s no wonder they filmed scenes for LOTR in the region! Milford sound is a large fjord in south west New Zealand that flows into the Tasman Sea. It’s is a small part of New Zealand’s Fiordland National park which is full of steep, ocean valleys that have been carved by ancient glaciers. The surrounding Southern Alps are snow covered mountain-tops with thick rainforests sprawled across the mountains.

 

canon t5i @ 20mm | ISO 160 | 1/60 | f/5.6

Because of its location on the west coast, the region gets a TON of rain – sometimes up to 250 mm in a day; it’s one of the wettest regions in the world. The incredibly heavy rain makes the area perfect for the rainforest to thrive! Running through these rainforests are huge waterfalls, some are permanent but if you’re lucky, you might get to see the dozens of temporary ones that form along the steep cliffs because of the heavy rain. Some of these start almost as high as the mountains, some rising above a 1000 meters.

canon t5i @ 35mm | ISO 100 | 1/100 | f/8.0

There are also several permanent waterfalls which change in size depending on the rain. The biggest waterfall in the area is the Bowen Falls – which is supposed to be higher that 160m. I’m not great with visualizing distances, but it was really tall. It’s a magnificent waterfall that also powers most of the surrounding area.