Milford Sound is situated on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Breathtaking views of plunging cliffs, towering mountain peaks with dramatic low hanging clouds and magnificent raging waterfalls, it's definitely one of those places you absolutely must visit in New Zealand.
There are a few different ways you can visit and enjoy Milford Sound. We chose to stay in a nearby town called Te Anau. We then drove out the next day to catch a cruise tour of the famous fiord.
For lunch in Te Anau we had a quick bite to eat at a food truck called Bao Now. FYI they also have dumplings on their menu too.
Bao Now
Address: 6 Milford Crescent, Te Anau 9600
Hours: Mon-Sun 11am-7:30pm
After lunch, we rented some mountain bikes to do a scenic lakeside bike ride. Since we got to Te Anau pretty late from Queenstown, we could only squeeze in a relatively short ride along Te Anau Lake. There are much longer cycling routes you can do though.
Wild Rides
Address: 68 Town Centre, Te Anau 9600
Hours: Mon-Sun 9am-6pm
We stayed two nights in a lovely, homely Airbnb cottage with very friendly and warm hosts, Kevin & Keiko. They have a beautiful tranquil garden and their place is a super short drive away from Te Anau's town centre.
Keiko & Kevin's Airbnb:
www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/22177689
For our Milford Sound cruise, we decided to go with a small cruise called Mitre Peak Cruises. The boat is smaller than the other cruise ships which means it has less height, but it has the great advantage of getting much closer to some great sights (like right under a waterfall and very close to the rocks where we saw penguins and seals). They also had informative commentary from the skipper and hosts on board making it feel like a more special and personal experience.
We managed to score a sweet deal for our Milford Sound cruise on a booking site that we often use called Bookme:
www.bookme.co.nz/things-to-do...
A few tips when visiting Milford Sound:
1) Fuel up in Te Anau as there aren't any petrol stations along the way to Milford Sound. No mobile phone coverage either.
2) Allow yourself enough time for scenic stop offs on Milford Road and for check-in (otherwise visit the scenic spots on your return drive).
3) Wear insect repellant on any exposed skin as we got bitten a fair bit in the carpark. It was totally fine on the actual cruise itself but when we got out of the car those sand flies and mozzies went to town on our ankles!
4) Wear something warm and rain proof especially if you're wanting to enjoy the waterfall spray which we fully recommend as it's invigorating and fun!
Btw we didn't vlog our dinners in Te Anau, but there's a great Indian restaurant in the town centre (Radha's) and a pretty good Chinese restaurant too (Ming Garden) if you're in need of some Asian food like we were!
Watch our other South Island road trip vlogs:
Vlog 1/5
• Where to get the best ...
Vlog 3/5
• Picture Perfect Lake W...
Vlog 4/5
• A Wonderfully Wacky Da...
Vlog 5/5
• Franz Josef & Fox Glac...
#milfordsound #milfordsoundcruise #westcoast #newzealand #nz
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VLOG DATE: 21-22 Oct 2020
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