Milford Sound / Piopiotahi

Milford Sound is a beautiful fiord in south west New Zealand. It has been considered by some the eighth wonder of the world. Milford sound isn't actually a sound, but rather it is a fiord. A fjord is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. For some reason, in New Zealand they spell it fiord instead of the typically fjord spelling. The first Europeans who came here were more focused on the fact that this deep inlet offered a safe place to shelter and collect food, water and wood. So they described it as ‘safe and sound'. Hence the name. In te reo Māori, the fiord is known as Piopiotahi after the now extinct piopio, a thrush-like bird that used to inhabit New Zealand. According to the Māori legend of Māui trying to win immortality for mankind, a single piopio flew to the fiord in mourning following Māui's death. The name Piopiotahi refers to this bird, with tahi meaning 'one'. We took a scenic boat tour and saw beautiful permanent waterfalls and ephemeral cascades. It was gorgeous!