Located deep in Fiordland National Park, Milford Sound is the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’. Nominally a ‘sound’, this severe landscape is, in fact, a fiord, shaped by the relentless action of glaciers over millennia. Sheer cliffs, some as high as 1200 metres, plummet into shiny black waters. Waterfalls cascade down forested mountain sides, so after rain hundreds of new streams thread the walls, creating a living and breathing landscape.
Mitre Peak, Milfords crown jewel, stands over this scene at an imposing 1,692 metres, its distinctive 5-peaked summit instantly recognisable.
Despite its isolation, Milford Sound is surprisingly accessible. An asphalt strip winds 100 kilometres from Lake Te Anau in the east through dense beech forest and past the mirror lakes of the Eglinton Valley, before sneaking over a low pass into the heart of Fiordland National Park. Here, the sheer granite walls and alpine peaks are reminiscent of America's Zion National Park, or Switzerland’s Lauterbrunnen Valley (sans-cows!). Passing through the remarkable Homer Tunnel, a 1.2 kilometre passage drilled through solid granite, delivers you arresting views of Fiordland proper, the ocean fiords now in the distance.
Things to do in Milford Sound / Fiordland
The tried-and-true way to experience Milford Sound is aboard a boat cruise. Navigate the 16 kilometre length of the fiord to its open ocean entrance, passing waterfalls and colossal, towering walls.
Alternatively, kayaking is a more personal way to explore on the water. Paddling the fiord's can bring you up close to seals, Fiordland crested penguins, and endangered Hector's dolphins.
Or hike the ‘finest walk in the world’. The Milford Track is a four-day journey offering total immersion in Fiordlands landscapes. Hikers cross suspension bridges, climb alpine passes, and descend into glaciated valleys on their 53.5 kilometre journey to the fiord’s most inland point.
Other hiking options include the Routeburn Track, one of New Zealand's premier Great Walks, which traverses a diverse alpine tapestry en route to Mt Aspiring National Park. Though less frequented, the Hollyford Track is equally stunning, taking hikers from mountains to sea.
If Fiordland were a Toblerone chocolate log, nibbled at one corner, then Milford, Hollyford, Routeburn, and Greenstone tracks (and their associated busyness) make up this corner. The rest of the Fiordland-log is pristine and hardly anyone visits. The immense areas south of here have few access points. Port Craig and Hump Ridge in the deep south and Doubtful sound and Borland in the middle. Eat your fill.
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