If you’re taking a trip around New Zealand’s beautiful South Island, then Milford Sound has to be on your list!
It is a truly breathtaking place and the scenic views start from the second you hit the State High 94, Milford Road. The sound has a one way in & out road, so you get to drive on one of the most amazing roads twice! I can’t even begin to explain how incredible it is in person, words and photos just cannot do it justice.
I’d recommend driving directly to the Sound on the way in, as it takes a couple of hours and then take your time on the way back once you’ve had your cruise and seen the Sound in all it’s glory. Also, keep in mind that there are NO petrol stations in the National Park.
Also, you ideally want to head there after it has been or is raining. For once, you WANT rain! Without it, the falls just don’t have the same gusto they do when it’s been pouring. We didn’t realise this, and even though Milford Sound is one of the wettest places in the world, let alone in New Zealand, we’d actually had really dry weather so the falls were smaller than they are in the winter or after a downpour.
Packing wise, you’ll absolutely need a raincoat for this one, as well as a warm top, suncream, a camera, maybe even a waterproof phone case if it’s raining that much, some travel sickness tablets and sunniessssss. A hat isn’t a great idea, we soon found out that it was much too windy to wear one, so don’t be expecting to keep it on.
There are so many cruise options, the price really varies depending on what you want. We personally just wanted just a cruise, but there are lunch/food options on some of them. They all go from the same docks though, and the paid car park is about 15 minutes from the check-in desks. P.S. the car park cost us $25 (so expensive!) to park in – unless you’re organised enough to park in the free car park at Deepwater Basin which is around 20-30 minutes scenic walk to the terminal. I believe that the parking has increased even more – the Milford Sound Tourism website now states it is $10 per hour for parking (most cruises are a couple of hours at least) and you pay on arrival, but there is also an option to pay online as well.
The National Park is also a popular spot for Kea’s, so if you like the sound of seeing one of these cheeky alpine parrots then make sure you allow some time on the way out to stop and look for these. We were lucky enough to see one as we headed out of the National Park. We’d been waiting to see one for so long, that we couldn’t believe it. She stayed around for a while which is quite common as they’re so inquisitive and friendly. Just make sure you shut your car/van windows, or they might take a peek in. If you do spot one, please report the sighting as these cuties are monitored very carefully. The link for the Kea Reporting is here.
Milford Sound is more of a day trip place, so I’d recommend staying in Te Anau where there are facilities such as shops/restaurants. This is the closest township at the end of the SH94. We stayed at Te Anau Lakeside Holiday Park and Motel which was lovely. There are campsites throughout Milford, but they have no facilities so we decided it was easier to do a long drive in and out instead.
Other than that, I’m not going to say much more. The key things are to go prepared with full petrol tanks, aim for the free carpark & allow 30 mins to walk from there, make sure you’re planning to arrive 20 mins earlier than your cruise departure time, and take the drive out as slowly as you can so you can see the most incredible sights and hopefully spot a Kea or two!
If you’re heading there, I hope you have the best time. It is a truly incredible place of nature.
lots of love
Han x
hannahshildrake.co.uk 