From Te Anau it is a 2h15min drive to Milford Sounds. It is recommended to download a driving map or get one from Te Anau tourist office.
Finally after seemingly endless winding road, we arrived at Milford sounds!
There are 4 cruise operators and we took a cruise with company Mitre peak which got the best review on tripadvisor. I liked it
for its small boats, which is less crowded. It is recommended to reserve your tickets in advance but as we went early we were able to buy it on the spot at a discounted price :)
The food at blue duck is basic but homely. Choices are limited so it will be good to stock up on snacks in the car.
On the way back from Milford sound, there are many sights to stop at (e.g. The Chasm, mirror lake). Here is where the Milford self-drive map will come in handy.
Driving back up the homer tunnel...
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| Landscape gets steeper along the way |
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| Winding in and out of snow-capped mountain range |
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| Homer tunnel, it's a 1.2km steep down slope through the mountain |
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| Many tour buses will stop here for photo |
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| With our rented car that served us well and eastern entrance of Homer Tunnel |
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| Coming out of the western end is a very winding downslope drive |
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| Very lucky to get a clear day |
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| Where all cruise depart from. |
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| Alternatively you can visit the sounds via a kayak tour |
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| Lovely sounds |
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| there are several waterfalls along the way and the small Mitre peak boat will go real close |
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| Anita bay where the fiord opens out to the Tasman Sea |
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| You can spot some small penguins that live here |
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| and many seals chilling out |
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| it was a sunny day best for tanning |
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| Fellow tour group member affected by the mood |
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| there is an underwater observatory centre. But pity that we couldn't dock as it was damaged by a storm |
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| Paradise in NZ |
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| Our small cruise boat on the right |
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| There is only one cafe Blue duck in the area where you can grab lunch/snack |
On the way back from Milford sound, there are many sights to stop at (e.g. The Chasm, mirror lake). Here is where the Milford self-drive map will come in handy.
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| Short boardwalk to the chasm |
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| Dramatic powerful waterfall |
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| The other end of the rapid is a deep waterfall. It's hard to capture the power of the falls in photo. |
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| Coming out of the eastern entrance |
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| You can follow part of the Routeburn track to Key Summit to get a panoramic view of the area. |
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| Reflecting at mirror lake |
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