A Bit of Geography
Because of New Zealand's location, situated in what is known as the roaring 40s, we are exposed to a lot of weather systems.
Milford Sound and much of Fiordland is on the West Coast, and is surrounded by mountains, so it is the first to get hit with these systems. As they move across the ocean they are generally warm and full of moisture, and when they hit the mountains on the West Coast the warm moist air is forced upwards where it cools and condenses and turns to rain in what is known as orographic rainfall. As the air moves over the mountain it dries out and starts to warm up again.
With the large number of mountains and valleys in the Fiordland area judging how this will affect us can be difficult.
The mountains often slow weather systems down and the valleys can cause wind directions to change. Certain parts of the track can be sheltered from southerly/ northerly winds while other parts will get to experience the full effect of the wind.
Milford Sound can see anywhere from 400 – 700mm rain per month or up to 9metres per year. But this all contributes to an exhilarating hiking experience!
Weather Predicition
Predicting the weather for any time of the year is an uncertain science. This is the reason we recommend all weather clothing. The operations team in Queenstown gathers information from a range of sources to get an idea of the effects of weather patterns on the track conditions and conveys this daily - sometimes hourly, to the team on track. The guides are trained to respond to strong wind and high levels of rainfall so it's important to follow their instructions in a severe weather event comes up while you are walking.
