Peaks and Places | Travel and Adventure Blog

One of our absolute musts as we travel the South Island was to visit Milford Sound, or Piopiotahi. Milford Sound is not actually a sound, but if one of the fiords in Fiordland National Park. This is the only fiord in New Zealand that is accessible by road. We were greeted by Kea, which are the worlds only alpine parrot. Kea are notoriously cheeky, reminding me a lot of nosy toddlers, going up to tourists and playing with the weather stripping on the cars and vans. We had our GoPro strapped to the roof, and one Kea in particular found it extremely interesting.

After a breathtaking drive down to the sound, we wanted to see more, so we booked a boat tour. Typically, the boat tours are around $145 per person for a 2-hour drive out of the fiord and then back. However, since it is the winter season, we were able to find a tour that was half the costs, and paid a total of $145 for our tour. All of the 2 hour boat tours cover the same route, so we were able to look for the best deal without worrying about missing out on something.

The boat tour starts off by facing Mitre Peak, a huge mountain right along the shoreline, that reaches over a mile into the sky, straight from the ocean. If it is rainy, the surrounding rainforest in the fiord cause an abundance of waterfalls to appear. Milford Sounds gets over 200 days of rainfall a year, with an average of 7.5 meters of total rainfall. Somehow, with all of our rainy weather luck, we managed to book our tour for the sunniest day of the week! Because of this, while the many random waterfalls were not present, we were still able to see the two main waterfall attractions, Stirling and Lady Bowen falls.

Lady Bowen falls was the first waterfall that we saw, and is one of the year round waterfalls in the Sound. This fall in particular is very special, because it provides Milford Sound as its sole source of both water and power. It is also the tallest waterfall in Milford, standing at 162 meters tall. The second permanent waterfall that we got to see what Stirling Falls, which is the second tallest waterfall, standing at 155 meters in height. This waterfall was incredible, and the boat actually went right under the falls (thankfully, we were prepared with rain jackets).

Milford Sound is also home to an abundance of wildlife, including fur seals, penguins, and dolphins. While we were not lucky enough to see fur seals or penguins, there were a bunch of dolphins that decided to be a part of our tour and play alongside in the wake of the boat as we headed through the fiord. We spent the entirety of the tour on the top viewing deck, even though it was incredibly windy and cold. We wanted to make sure that we didn’t miss a thing. The tour also had complimentary coffee, which we absolutely took advantage of, if mostly just keep our hands warm.

Even though it wasn’t rainy, the sunlight was trapped in the high walls of the fiord we were in. Occasionally, we would get some sunlight to help warm us up on our tour. Milford Sounds is totally unique, and unlike anything we have seen in New Zealand, and maybe ever. Seeing these mountains tower out from the ocean itself was truly amazing, and I think both Eric and I may have to make another trip out into the fiord again before we leave the country.