Milford Sound

We boarded the Kiwi bus from Queenstown at 7am, to start our huge journey to Milford sound which would take all day. We were very lucky as Mangee our driver had done the Milford Sound tour hundreds of times, so he knew everything there was to see.

The first stop was at a tiny cafe where we could grab some breakfast and a coffee, and just outside there were some Alpacas that we bought some food to feed them with. At this point Archie told us that he randomly had 3 pet Alpacas at home, all with exotic sexy Spanish mens names which made us laugh. He was always a surprise a minute!

After our breakfast stop, we made way on our journey. Milford Sound isn't actually too far from Queenstown, however due to the mountainous terrain, you have to drive round Te Anu, which is why the drive takes so long. Simply going over the mountain is not a possibility.

Mangee was the perfect guide though. He had a whole playlist lined up that would suit each bit of scenery we saw. For example, when we passed these stunning mirror lakes, we had the very apt "Man in the Mirror' by Michael Jackson blaring from the bus. It made the drive a little less tedious, and made all the sights that much more special.

You may be able to see the backwards sign, that reads Mirror lake, but can only be seen in the reflection of the lake.

Once again, we were blessed with good weather, and it made our trip that much more special. We stopped off for every small walk and photo opportunity, and there were plenty of them!

Along the drive like the rest of New Zealand, there were small walks that led to cute picturesque waterfalls, and mossy rocks, which meant we got a good look at some of the wild life too. Here we saw a little Kea showing off on the side of the road, so Mangee pulled over and let us take pictures of him.

We also drove past this sheer cliff edge, which Mangee informed us AJ Hackett, the king of bungy jumping is trying to get planning permission to make a huge bungy jump available off here!

The whole journey was beautiful, and the pictures will speak louder than words. We passed rivers and waterfalls to the point that we became used to such beautiful surroundings.

Finally after about three hours, we arrived at the entry to Milford sound. The huge dramatic mountain loomed over us, and we boarded the boat to take the 1 hour and 45 minute journey.

The journey was really really windy! So we were glad to hear that there were free hot drinks available on board! We set of on our journey around the eagerly anticipated Milford Sound.

Andy, Mark, Amy, Tom, Steph, Charlotte and Archie

The water was clear blue, and the mountains around us made a huge pathway through the sound. Apart from a few smaller boats, it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.

There were beautiful waterfalls coming from every direction, and we even got so close to one of the big ones we got a bit of cold spray.

As we turned around to go back to the boat port, we noticed a huge albatross riding the back of the boat from the wind, and he was flying in somersaults right in front of our eyes.

The occurrence of said Albatross meant this song was sung for a lot of the boat trip. 

CAUTION FOR PARENTS: contains bad language.

We took one last look back on Milford Sound as we made our way back to the port. Although the trip was beautiful, we wanted to get more involved with it! In the summer you are able to kayak up and down the channel, and therefore have more opportunity to see more wildlife, but at the time of year we went, it was just far too cold. There is also the option to do the 3 day hike to get to Milford Sound which sounds like something we would enjoy after doing the Inca Trail, so maybe it is something we will come back and explore one day.

On our journey back, we had time to wind down, and Mangee put on Ted 2 for us to watch to make the journey go faster, as it was dark outside now, we wouldn't have any beautiful scenery to look at and keep us entertained. Milford Sound really is a beautiful place, and is certainly a modern day wonder of the world that must be seen when in New Zealand.

We embarked on the 3 hour journey back to Queenstown.