Working in Milford Sound

For the past four months I have been living and working in Milford Sound in New Zealand, where I both worked and lived at the lodge (Milford Sound Lodge) doing housekeeping and working in café PioPio.

To those of you who don’t know what Milford Sound is I can tell you that it is an incredible place. It is a part of Fiordland National Park, which is the biggest national park in New Zealand, it is also a World Heritage Area, and some people even call it the eight wonder of the world. Living in these surroundings and waking up every day to something that looks like it’s been taken out of a Jurassic Park movie is absolutely amazing. Even after rainfall (which happens quite often since it is the wettest place on earth) the lodge, which I worked at, would be surrounded by thousands of waterfalls, which would leave you breathless!

Living and working in Milford has been an incredible experience where I have met a lot of wonderful people, where I have learned a lot about myself and about what I can do (and cannot do). Several times I have been pushed to the limit on hikes, I have cried, I have laughed and I have had the time of my life! From time to time living in such a remote environment can be quite tough. There is only one road that leads to Milford, and it has only been accessible for about 60 years. Before that the only way to Milford was by boat entering from outside the fiord or by climbing the Homer Saddle. There is also no need to bring a cell phone here since there is no such thing as phone reception and Wi-Fi is for purchase only. I know, it sounds crazy, but it’s a fact. How did I survive? you might ask. To be honest it was pretty easy…

Being surrounded by thousands of mountains and endless waterfalls makes you forget about the “other world” out there leaving you in a tiny “Milford Bubble” resulting in pure happiness and me being totally oblivious to whatever was going on around the world. I think the fact that our only option was to live life “right here, right now” sort of thing made everyone in Milford really close and lead us to do all sorts of stuff leaving us with memories for life. It wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies but it was the time of my life, and I know now that when life gives you rain you just gotta play in the puddles!

Love Jo