Today we were looking forward to our boat trip through Milford Sound, one of the most famous tourist attractions in New Zealand.
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Milford Sound’s history
Milford Sound is a 15 km long fjordthat stretches from the Tasman Sea into the country and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fjord was created by the glacial movements of the ice ages and is surrounded by rock faces up to 1,200 metres high. The highest elevation is Mitre Peak (Bishop’s Hat) with 1,692 meters. The Milford Sound area is one of the wettest areas on earth. Up to 8000 mm of precipitation falls here each year. By comparison, berlin has a good 500 mm of precipitation over the same period.
The prices of the boat tours
Since most tourist buses don’t arrive in Milford Sound until about 11am, we decided to go on an early tour at 9am. On the one hand, you can escape the crowds of tourists, and on the other hand, the prices are also much cheaper in the morning. The later the tour, the more expensive it becomes. By comparison, a summer tour costs 9 a.m. incl. Breakfast around $60. The tour at 11 a.m. will cost you as much as 80 p.m., and at 3:15 p.m. it will cost a whopping NZD of NZD 96.
In the port terminal there are several providers for the tours. In the end, everyone has the same route and differs only in small things. We chose Southern Discoveries, which offers a free breakfast on the ship during the 9am trip.
A Scenic Cruise through Milford Sound
Around 8.30 a.m. we were able to get on the ship and enjoy the free breakfast for the first time. The boat trip starts at 9 a.m. It passed up to 1,200 meters high, partly still in the shade rock faces. That’s perhaps a little bit of a disadvantage of such an early tour. Although the light is best for photographing in the morning, much of it is still in the complete shadow of the mountains at this time.
There are a total of 3 major waterfalls (Stiring Falls, Fairy Falls and the Bown Falls) on the route, to which the boat has also approached very close. On an upstream rock we could see a few sea lions, which had made themselves comfortable in the morning sun. Overall it is a nice ride, although partly (especially in the shade) really cold.
After about two hours we arrived at the port again. After the tour we walked back to the parking lot and took some great pictures from here.
All travelogues from New Zealand
For 11 days we explored New Zealand from north to south by rental car on our own. We started our trip on the North Island in the city of Auckland, we experienced the tremendous underground forces in Wai-O-Tapu and Orakei Korako, we explored the capital Wellington, drove across the New Zealand Alps, did a glacier hike on the Fox Glacier, before we finished with a trip through the UNESCO World Heritage Site Milford Sound. New Zealand is a really beautiful country that we enjoyed incredibly.
» North Island: Auckland – Tourist Attractions, Things to Do & Photo spots (New Zealand)» North Island: Waitomo – The Waitomo Glowworm Caves (New Zealand)
» North Island: Rotorua & The geothermal area Wai-O-Tapu (New Zealand)
» North Island: Orakei Korako – The geothermal region in Taupo (New Zealand)
» North Island: The Tongariro Alpine Crossing & the city of Wellington (New Zealand)
» North Island / South Island: Picton – The ferry from the North Island to the South Island (New Zealand)
» South Island: Abel Tasman National Park – Hiking & Boat tour (New Zealand)
» South Island: Pancake Rocks & the Sea Lions at Cape Foulwind (New Zealand)
» South Island: The Franz Josef Glacier in Westland National Park (New Zealand)
» South Island: Fox Glacier – Heli-Hike, Glacier Walk & Ice Climbing (New Zealand)
» South Island: New Zealand Alps – From Franz-Josef to Milford Sound (New Zealand)
» South Island: Milford Sound – A boat trip through the fjord (New Zealand)
» South Island: Road to Milford Sound & the town of Queenstown (New Zealand)