Don't Forget Your Tripod

  

Route from Te Anau to Milford Sound

*Courtesy of NZTA

The next morning, we woke later than usual because we didn't need to leave until 11am to ensure there was enough stop and go time until our 4pm cruise. We took our first run (around 4k) of the trip on the Lake Te Anau esplanade. We then packed our car for the day with all the goodies for a picnic in the fiordlands reserve.

First View of Our Drive Ahead

From 11am to 3:45, we stopped at some spectacular sights along the 119km journey to Milford Sound. Thankfully, Holly at Information circled all the sights we needed to see.

At each lookout, everyone seemed to have a tripod wherever we stopped on our way to Milford Sound. It’s OK though. We still took amazing pictures with my smart phone. Huge thanks to Samsung!

First, we stopped at the Mirror Lakes (a large still pond giving a good reflection of the mountains in the foreground), took a nature walk around Gunn Lake, attempted to have lunch around Gunn Lake, but were eaten by the sand flies who love my skin and finally ended up having lunch in the car parked at a lookout.

Mirror Lakes

Big Trees on the Nature Walk at Lake Gunn

Northern View of Lake Gunn

Southern View of Lake Gunn

That's Cold!

Deeper Look into Lake Gunn

Beautiful Trees Surrounding Lake Gunn

Lake Gunn Lookout

Picnic Lunch

For lunch we brought pepperoni, hard boiled eggs, bleu cheese, crackers (must have Arnott's Sesame Wheat!) and plums. With very little platform space in the car with exception to the dashboard, I had to place the hard boiled eggs around the car. Eating was like an Easter Egg Hunt.

The Easter Egg Hunt

Such an Animal

First View of the Snow-capped Mountains

at Milford Sound

Last Lookout Before a Long Downhill Drive

Enjoying the Views

Stream at Haast Pass

 

The Kaka. Not as Wild as You Would Think

After lunch, we stopped by a few more lookouts. At one of the lookouts we saw a huge Kaka bird entertaining a caravan of Indians. They were feeding it crackers, when you clearly shouldn't. It did give us an opportunity to take some up close photos of 'wildlife'.

Waterfalls at Homer Tunnel

To get to Milford Sound, you have to go through one more mountain. Lucky for us, the Homer Tunnel was built to go through the mountain. At the base, was like a gorge where you could see waterfalls from melted snow carving through the rocks and also some ice snow remnants from the winter.

Amazing Sight of Waterfalls Through Rock

It's Summer & There's Still Snow on the Ground

Under a Wave of Ice

Caveman

Waterfalls & Ice

Nature Walk at The Chasm

After passing through the Homer Tunnel, we had our last stop at The Chasm - aptly named for the melted snow water in the Cleddau River travelling so hard and so fast through rocks that overtime it has shaped the rocks like a tunnel with potholes.

Rush of Water Below

 

Carved Potholes

Cleddau River

Lookout from The Chasm Nature Walk

We arrived at Milford Sound just in time for boarding. We took a 2.5 hour cruise through the fiordland and channel out to the Pacific Ocean and back.

While given facts about the sound via a loudspeaker, we observed the lay of the land or should I say the lack of it. Glaciers in the past had carved out the land over millions of years creating the fiord and the channel we were cruising on. 

Thank goodness it was a clear beautiful day because it usually rains 200 days in the year. Today, we saw the green cliffs, waterfalls, seagulls, seals and blue water clearly.

Big Waterfall at the Entrance

Low Clouds

Not Rainy, but Super Windy

Hello Milford Sound

Cruise Ship from Australia

Lovely Cruise

The Reject Seals

There are hundreds of seals at Milford Sound. However, if you're an inferior male, you are cast out of the colony to hang out with the other cast outs.

Taste the Waterfall

Boat Got Real Close to the Waterfall

 

The Reverse Bungee Jump

Tall Cliff Face

 

Snow-capped Mountain at Milford Sound

A Titanic Moment

Last Peep at Milford Sound

We drove 1.5 hours back to Lake Te Anau. Pretty good for a trip that is said to take 2-2.5 hours without stopping. We ate a bowl of Shin Ramyeon soup with satisfaction of sharing our instant noodle meal, observations of natural beauty and a leisurely road trip.


Trip Extras:

• Drive to Milford Sound on your own. Don't hire a charter bus
• Stop at Mirror Lakes - only a 5 minute lookout
• Take the 25 minute nature walk around Lake Gunn
• Pack a lunch and eat it at one of the many lookouts along the way
• Bring a good camera - there are many breathtaking views
• Stop before the tunnel at Haast Pass to view the ice and waterfalls
• Stop at The Chasm - only a 15 minute nature walk of chiseled rock
• Take the last cruise at Milford Sound. There will only be a handful of people and it's a great end to the journey