It’s a 4hr drive from the launching point of Queenstown to reach the elusive & remote Milford Sound. This day on the itinerary is one of the highlights when basing out of the adventure capital of the world, even after the uncomfortably early wake up call of 6:15am. Does our guide know that we are actually on vacation?!
It is rumored that there are 366 days of rain in this pristine piece of the world, but nonetheless, eager tourists flock to behold this otherworldly location featured in Lord of the Rings.
The majestic drive into the valley is thrust between rugged, volcano spires with waterfalls cascading down the open face rocks at every turn. First stop is at Mirror Lakes, where even though it is drizzling, we can still see a small glimpse of the reflections radiating off the perfectly still bodies of water.
Next we traverse through Homers tunnel that was built entirely by hand over 1200m purely for tourism as a gateway to this national park.
Our necks are all tilted upwards trying to grasp the magnitude of these rocky giants, while our jaws were on the floor at the breathtaking beauty of this mostly hidden landscape. We pull into the compact dock area and quickly board our vessel to be transported into the wild for a two hour joyride.
Immediately upon departure, a cascading waterfall appears around the first bend and serenity ensues. Our timing was impeccable, as the clouds parted for all but 10 mins of our journey. We were told this was very unusual and certainly took advantage of basking in the sunshine on the upper deck, despite the slight chill in the air from the fierce winds coming from the Tasman Sea.
My favorite sight was the massive waterfall that heaved water off the side of the cliff and dissipated before ever reaching the shoreline. There were numerous flocks of birds gracing us with flybys and even a few baby sea lions sunbathing on nearby rocks.
The grand finale was a closeup practically underneath the amazing Stirling Falls, which is one of only 2 permanent waterfalls in the region. The spray was a welcome surprise, as our captain pulled us alongside the towering cliffs to show the sheer magnitude of the landscape.
The cruise expired before we could even blink, and we gravitated back to our transport to snooze away the return voyage and onto our next adventure.
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