Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Milford sound cruise time

Hi

Here is an extract from my trip report to NZ which I had posted on this site. Hope it is of assistance.

“TE ANAU to MILFORD SOUND

The actual drive time is about 1.40 hours in good conditions. There are several hairpin bends after the tunnel.

At the tunnel there are traffic lights, as it is a one lane tunnel. Inside is dark and "spooky" with occasional water dripping on to the car. The road surface is a bit uneven but nothing major. It takes about 2 minutes to drive through.

IMPORTANT - you need to turn the headlights on before you enter the tunnel but remember to turn them off after exiting. We forgot!!! - more about that later..

We had a leisurely drive to Milford Sound as our scenic cruise was not until 3pm.

I purposely booked us on the last cruise at 3pm (real journeys on Milford Monarch) because the first cruise at 9 am and the last one at 3 pm are less crowded.

The 3 pm cruise is not available all year so you might want to check the company's site for details. The cruiser carries up to 400 passengers and there were twenty on the 3 pm cruise.

The road to Milford Sound is out of this world. The sheer cliffs surround you and waterfalls cascade down and then you drive among the beech forest and along a lake and back into the mountains.
The beech trees are not the trees you find in the northern hemisphere. You can find description of the beech trees when you stop at MIRROR LAKES. These small lakes are aptly named as the mountain range behind them is clearly and beautifully reflected in their waters.
There is a nice and level boardwalk around the lakes, under a canopy of beech trees, with two or three viewing platforms and the boards posted around describe the flora and fauna of the area.

There are a number of spots to stop and take in the beauty around you.

There is a spectacular waterfall at Falls Creek on your left just before a one lane bridge. It is obscured by trees so it is easy to pass by but mark the spot and either stop on the other side of the road where there is large parking area, or remember the spot and pull up on your way back which is what we did.

We all had a drink from the waterfall it was like nectar and most refreshing.

Near the waterfall there was a large slab of ice and snow. We told we were lucky with the weather, which was sunny throughout. Apparently a couple of weeks before our trip there was a dumping of snow which meant there was more snow than usual capping the mountains.

At the parking area there is a resident kea bird which seems to delight posing for photographs sitting atop one of the signs.

There are many other picturesque stops such as the Chasm along the way.

When we reached the Milford Sound my first impression was that it was like a busy transport interchange. Massive car park, planes and helicopters taking off every few minutes, people bustling around and the sand flies surrounding one in droves! And this was the less busy part of the day.

Very quickly however I realised that there was a good system in place to move things along. There is a shuttle to take you to the marina where the boats are berthed or you can walk about 500 or so metres.

At the car park there is a cafe and there are picnic tables on the grass outside. We had brought our baguettes, ham, cheeses, tomatoes etc and drinks so sat at the table for our al fresco lunch.

It was great except for the sandflies.I will repeat my comment in the initial section of this report - make sure you apply the appropriate repellent before you get to Milford and then reapply it on arrival.

The pesky things seemed to disappear once we go under way...

We walked to the terminal and waited for some 200 people to disembark and then about 20 of us boarded for the final cruise of the day. We obviously had total freedom of the boat.

The girls stayed up top most of the time braving the winds which are inevitable in such a long "tunnel". We alternated between the middle covered deck with panoramic windows extending into the ceiling so you could look up at the towering cliffs and the side and top of the boat.

The grand vistas in front, to the sides and behind us were magnificent.
The boat pulled quite close to one of the many waterfalls and we caught some of the spray.

Then there was the excitement of seeing beautiful seals resting on the rocks and later some more frolicking in the water.

The skipper announced that we would make our way to the very mouth of the Sound where it meets the Tasman Sea before turning back for our return journey. It was such a thrilling contrast- emerging from the walled tunnel of the sound to the open sea beyond.

Throughout we were snapping photos like crazy and taking breaks with a cup of well brewed coffee or tea (available on the middle deck, self service, free of charge)

Through a friendly crew member we were allowed to go on the bridge and see the skipper do his work. We were amazed that the steering is done by gently tapping the smallest of joysticks - I imagined a big, round wheel. The girls were thrilled to be allowed to sit in the skipper's chair.

He told us that the snow comes to about half way down the mountains (where you see some bushes growing). Also that there are 85 staff at Milford Sound who live in the staff quarters behind the airfield. It is a particular type of lifestyle and during time off people go to Te Anau.

So overall the scenic cruise was all about stunning scenery, cheerful crew and good coffee.

As we were returning we had to wait to allow the overnight boats go out - that will be something to look forward to the next time. Also on this occasion we did not walk Milford track, which I had hiked so many years ago - another one for the next time.

Full of impressions we walked back to the almost empty car park.

We could not start our car because we forgot to turn the headlights off after the tunnel and the battery was dead as dodo!

We turned to three young men standing around their car, parked next to ours, and asked them if they had jumper leads. Well yes they did, but they were inside their car together with the car key they had locked inside. A swashbuckling New Zealander appeared who was going to help them break into their car. I decided to check if there were any other potential ‘helpers' around and spotted a woman in a station wagon. She was German, traveling alone and yes she could help out with jumper leads to start our car.
So at this point there were four cars huddled together, ours', the three Israeli boys', the German woman's and the New Zealander's.

I thought to myself “it can't get any more United Nations here". WRONG!!

A young couple approached and asked if we had any jumper leads because they forgot to turn the headlights off etc etc etc. They were Dutch, increasing our merry international gathering.

And so ended our Milford Sound adventure...

Next Queenstown"

Enjoy your cruise :-)