Garth Dutton

Fiordland, New Zealand – A Poem

Fiordland, New Zealand
© Garth Dutton 2004

In October 2004, I went to
the South Island of New Zealand,
on a new direct flight from
Sydney to Christchurch.
It was well worth my while.
I took the 10 hour bus trip from
Christchurch to Te Anau,
with its beautiful lake.
Then, a couple of days later,
I took the bus trip to Milford Sound.

The Milford Road would have to be
one of the most spectacular roads in the world,
for it winds through Fiordland.
The mountains there are huge,
and the whole landscape
has been torn asunder
by repeated Ice Ages.

What are left are towering snow-capped mountains,
vertical-walled U-shaped valleys,
(gouged out by ice),
and deep fiords at the coast.
Valley bottoms and lower slopes
are covered with thick forest,
except where it has been cleared
by numerous avalanches
during winter and spring.

Then there is the Homer Tunnel,
which goes right under a mountain range.
It was mostly dug by pick and shovel
to employ the unemployed
during the Great Depression,
and finished off after the War.

Much of it is one lane only,
with passing bays here and there.
It is always full of buses, caravans and petrol tankers,
and the walls are still rough-hewn.
It was a scary experience going through.
Then the long winding drop down to Milford Sound.

It was raining while I was there,
but that was a good thing,
for it meant waterfalls
cascaded down from the mountains
all around the fiord.
Spectacular!

I’ll definitely go there again sometime.

Tags: australia, fiordland, garth dutton, new zealand, poem, poet, Poetry, sydney