Come with me to our own Fiordland … Milford Sounds. We could, of course, take one of the steamer excursions to this most beautiful of spots, but let us on this occasion approach from the other side … let us drink in the beauty of the Milford Track slowly, until at last we reach the champagne of it all … Milford Sounds themselves. From Dunedin a service car takes us to Lake Te Anau, in itself a thing of placid beauty, where we stay the night. Early in the morning a launch leaves Te Anau for Glade House, the forty-odd miles of lake voyage slipping behind us pleasantly in three and one half hours. Here in this bush-land beauty we feel we could stay forever, but we must continue … . always seeking. We set our questing feet in the wondrous Clinton Canyon. Under towering beech trees lies the pathway … soft with fallen leaves. Always with us is the pleasant music of the murmuring river, and here and there we catch a glimpse of its surpassing beauty. Soon we reach the saddle of the McKinnon Pass, its precipitous peaks standing sentinel-like in majestic grandeur. Onward we walk, page 31 and suddenly as we round a bend in the bush we see the Pompolona Huts. We are home, for to-night, and a cheery meal awaits us. Another day … and off we set for Quinton Huts. The heavy bush of yesterday becomes groves of ribbonwood and the track becomes more undulating. Suddenly we conquer McKinnon's Pass and before us lies Lake Ella reflecting the surrounding peaks in its placid waters. We lunch in Nature's beautiful dining-rooms and then once more onwards … ever onwards, until in mid-afternoon we reach Quinton Huts, still in our minds the picture of a rock cairn standing on the edge of Lake Ella … a monument erected to the memory of Quinton McKinnon, a man who sought beauty and found it … here. We rest a while and then stroll gently along the mile that leads to the brightest gem of all … the Sutherland Falls … a necklace of sheer beauty with three strings. These majestic Falls, the highest in the world, fall in three leaps, the top one 815 feet, the middle 751 and the lower 338 feet. Truly has Nature painted a scene of everlasting beauty. We return to Quinton Huts with a feeling of humility … a feeling of dissatisfaction at Man's puny efforts to emulate Nature. The third day from Quinton to Milford Sounds is easy going. We follow the valley on the banks of the Arthur River. We wander pleasantly among native forest, dwarfed on either side by mighty mountains. The river is now broad and deep, and wonderful vistas open before us as we journey. Ahead, and to the right, the Sheerdown Range lifts its majestic head to a height of four thousand feet, its turretted heights impressing us with the suitability of its name. We press steadily on through scenes of ever changing beauty until we arrive at the Arthur Falls … the end of the actual walk. There a launch awaits to take us the remaining two miles to the hotel at the head of Milford Sound. We have arrived at a home which offers us the comfort of a city but the beauty that only Nature in its most glorious moments can design. Here, actually at Milford, are beauty spots innumerable. The majesty of Mitre Peak, Monarch of Milford … the thread-like beauty of Stirling Falls. There are walks and launch trips … excursions into beauty. We feel that we could stay forever in this haven of rest and beauty, but Time relentlessly calls us back to the smoke and bustle of the city. We start on the return journey feeling that we shall return … we must return. There are other sights to see, other paths to follow. But they will keep for another day. And so we leave, feeling that when we return … soon we hope … the beauty of Milford will greet us again … fresh and undimmed.