Our second day was a long road trip to Milford Sound located in the Fiordland National Park. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in New Zealand.
In my research prior to our trip, many advise to leave very early as it is a 4-5 hour drive from Queenstown to Milford. We had booked a 1PM cruise, so we left the hotel around 6 in the morning (the girls were understandably grumpy), because we were also allowing for meal breaks along the way.
The road trip to Milford is quite an experience. You will definitely see a lot of green, lots of untouched scenery and just a feast for the eyes. Even though it was still autumn, snow was already forming on some of the higher peaks.
The last town with a gas station is in Te Anau, and it’s important to load up here, because there won’t be any until you reach Milford.
Milford Sound Cruise
We arrived at around 1215 PM, and immediately after parking the car, I rushed JP and the girls to the visitor centre, which was a 10-minute walk away. This was a mistake on my part, as we failed to buy sandwiches for lunch in the café near the parking site. Luckily, we had some small sandwiches, fruit and yoghurt packed in our bag, and the girls ate that while waiting to board the boat.
Once you get to the visitor centre, you’ll have a nice view of the Sound, and Mitre Peak–one of the most famous mountains in New Zealand. It’s not the tallest, but certainly impressive.
We boarded our small cruise boat at about 1PM, and waited only a few minutes for everyone to get on before setting out to sea. This is probably one of the most peaceful and beautiful places I’ve ever seen, hands down.
I have never seen so many waterfalls in one place! The boat will go under one of the waterfalls, and you’ll be advised to get inside if you don’t want to get wet. But if you do want to take a picture directly under the falls, make sure you bring along a change of clothes!
Milford Sound is one of the dampest places in New Zealand, and 75% of the time, it’s rainy. But the weather gods must have been smiling on us that day, and it was warm and sunny.
We were also able to see some seals lounging on the rocks, and a huge bonus–dolphins playing about and jumping near our boat! What a treat it was!
The cruise lasted about 2.5 hours, and by the time we got back to land, we only stayed about 15 minutes to get some food before we left.
The girls were quite anxious about getting in the car and doing a long drive again, so about an hour into our drive, we stopped on the side of the road and let them run about for a bit.
After that, they had their nap and we made our way back to Queenstown. We got back at about 7pm, and ate KFC takeaways at the marina.
There were lots of St. Patrick’s Day parties going on, so most of the restaurants were full, which is why we decided to have a picnic outside. The day ended with some gelato from Mrs. Ferg’s Chocolate.
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Details:
Milford Sound Cruise-I booked our cruise via Mitre Peak Cruises. NZD170 for two adults. Infants 0-3 years old are free, Kids 4-14 years old, NZD20. Note the prices may change, depending on the season, so check the website. Check out the other packages on the website–like a bus tour and cruise, a helicopter ride (something I want to try next time!).
There is an additional fee if you would like to add a visit to the Discovery Centre and Observatory. We did not avail of this, because we were on the afternoon cruise and were concerned about the time we were going to be on the road. No food available on board, but there is free coffee and tea.
We liked Mitre Peak Cruise because the boat was smaller, therefore less people on the boat, so we were able to move freely around and were able to take photos better. It also goes further out to sea than the other cruises, so you’ll get some more nice photos and a nice view of the Tasman Sea.
Tips:
- Always check the weather (a must in NZ!), so you’ll know if you need to bring layers of clothes or not.
- Check the NZTA website for updates on road conditions to Milford. In winter, especially, the roads can be slippery with snow, and sometimes, tire chains may be required. Factor in restroom, food, photo-taking breaks in your travel time. Here is a nifty guide on interesting sites along the way to Milford Sound
- Once you park your car at the site, there is a café where you can buy sandwiches, snacks and drinks before the 10-minute walk to the Visitor Centre where you will get on the boat. You can bring the food onboard, just don’t make a mess and take your trash with you.
- Bring raincoats/extra clothes if you want to get under the waterfalls. We brought along raincoats in case it was raining, but thankfully, we had good weather so did not have to use it.
The rest of this series:
Queenstown: Walter Peak Farm Tour
Queenstown: Wanaka and Glenorchy–coming soon
