Closer Look

In the Southeastern corner of New Zealand's South Island is Fiordland National Park, where glacial sculpted mountains plunge into the Tasman Sea. The water passageways are as deep as the tall mountains. These fiords mirror the ones in Norway.

Every visitor to New Zealand should see this beautiful area. The trouble is, they all do and since there isn't much flat land between the ranges, they tend to bump into one another. Chances are, if you walked into a bookstore today and picked up a New Zealand travel guide, the cover will have a picture of Milford Sound and its predominate landmark Mitre Peak.

The mountain flanks are decorated with silver ribbons of water cascading into the fiord. This is Sterling Falls. Our tour boat captain thoughtfully backed the boat directly under the falling water to annoy all of us with unprotected cameras. As we were leaving, I pulled mine out of my jacket and grabbed this shot.