Despite its name, Milford Sound is not a sound at all, it’s actually a fiord.
Milford Sound is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand’s South Island within Fiordland National Park. Its sheer cliffs and rocky valleys were formed over hundreds of thousands of years by ancient glaciers. The fiord runs 9.94 miles (16km) inland from the Tasman Sea and has a maximum depth of 1,312 feet (400m). According to Māori legend, Milford Sound was formed by Tu-te-raki-whanoa, a godly figure who was in charge of shaping the Fiordland coast. They say by chanting powerful prayer he was able to carve the fiord from earth using his adze, referred to as Te Hamo.
There are a number of different ways you can experience Milford Sound and all of its breathtaking views; from day cruises, overnight cruises, kayaking, scuba diving, and even flyovers. You also have a handful of companies to chose from for the activities you’d like to be part of during your visit. We chose to do a 2 hour cruise aboard the Milford Mariner, through the company Real Journeys. For the two of us, the cruise set us back $120 USD ($180 NZD), and honestly, we would have spent more for the epic and memorable experience we had.
The night before our cruise we decided to take a break from the van and stay in a tiny-home Airbnb in the quaint little town of Te Anau. Te Anau is known as the “gateway to Fiordland National Park and Milford Sound”, and is approximately 74 miles (118 km) from where you board the Milford Mariner. It takes less than 2 hours to drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound, but it is suggested you allow yourself 3+ hours for all of the stops along the way you’re definitely going to want to take. We allowed ourselves 3 hours to do the drive, and to be honest, we could have easily taken longer. The drive to and from was beautiful, and an experience all on its own. I’ve included some of our photos below, so please scroll through to see the beauty for yourself.
The weather for many days leading up to our Milford Sound cruise had been anything but sunny and dry, so when we woke up the morning of to beautiful blue skies a sunshine, we were ecstatic. See for yourself how perfect the weather was in the short video below.
Milford Sound is a haven for wildlife; some of which can only be found in the Fiordland region due to its remote location and damp conditions. We were lucky enough to encounter fur seals, Fiordland crested penguins, and bottlenose dolphins during our time out on the water. Unfortunately, we were unprepared with only a GoPro and our iPhones, so we were unable to get a close enough photo of the penguins… so sad, I know.
If you’re a fan of chasing waterfalls (cue TLC “Waterfalls”), then a trip to Milford Sound should be on your bucket list. There is an abundance of cascading waterfalls throughout, however, some can only be seen flowing after or during rainfall. Lady Bowen Falls and Stirling Falls are the two permanent waterfalls of Milford Sound, and you are guaranteed to see them anytime you decide to visit. The residents of Milford Sound rely heavily on Lady Bowen Falls, as she provides a source of both water and electricity for them. The video below was filmed during our Milford Sound cruise – our captain decides to give us all a closer look at one of the waterfalls and also gets us nice and wet in the process.
I honestly don’t have the words to explain how incredible it was to be right in the middle of Milford Sound and all of its beauty and vastness. To think about how it was created (via glaciers, not Tu-te-raki-whanoa) is almost mind blowing; it’s just so expansive. I think I can safely speak for Ed, and say how extremely lucky we feel to have been able to experience something so magical.
Thank you for reading and following along. Cheers!
An Advantageous Life 