Ticking off a bucket list destination - Our trip to Milford Sound, New Zealand.

G'day hive.
It's sad news that pinmapple is shutting down😔 thanks to everyone in the team for all the curation over the years! It really is an end of an era for hive.
Pinmapple is definitely my favorite part of posting my travel blogs on hive, and it will be missed 😔

So here is my last post on @pinmapple

I have finally found some time to continue on with my blogs from New Zealand.

Here is a bucket list location and a water falls enthusiasts wet dream. The one and only Milford Sound.

Now the whole point of this trip to New Zealand was two things - Cage dive with great whites as seen here.

https://peakd.com/hive-163772/@vcclothing/cage-diving-in-new-zealand-with-great-white-sharks

And to celebrate my mum's birthday at Milford Sound. As this is a place that she has always dreamt of visiting.

Milford Sound is famous for it's super high mountain peaks that go straight into the ink dark water.
Located in the Fiordland National Park.
The landscape hear is just stunning. I have never seen mountains so high that protrude straight out of the water like this before.

We were staying in Queenstown and traveling as a family so we had our one and a half year old with us.
A bit of research into the best way for us of getting to Milford Sound from Queenstown was a scenic flight. Rather than the 5 hour bus journey each way. Which I'm sure my son would ruin the experience for everyone else on the tour haha.

So we locked in the scenic flight and on mum's bday we headed to the pick up location for the airport shuttle. We were all super excited for the day ahead!!

But the weather had other plans....
10min before pick up we received a phone call while we were waiting.
"The flight has been cancelled due to bad weather"
The person on the phone told us. We all looked at each other in sadness by the news. That our awesome day for mum has been cancelled.

But I thought let's see if my mate will lend us his car and I drive us there and back so mum can tick off Milford Sound on her bday and make it a day to remember!!

Now this will be no easy feat. I have to drive the 5 hours there and 5 hours back. Hopefully my son will be all good on the drive and not loose it too much haha. And hopefully we can book a cruise around Milford Sound last minute.

Turns out the stars aligned and before you know it we were on our way!!

And WOW what an adventure this would turn out to be!

As the airport told us the weather was absolute shit house. But we powered on.

It was overcast and drizzling with rain but that's all part of the adventure right.

Like every drive in the South island everywhere you look the landscape is amazing!!

And due to the rain. Nearly every mountain had a waterfall! It was so surreal.

Now just as you enter the park you have to go through Homer tunnel which cuts through a mountain.

And when we exit the tunnel we were greeted with waterfalls all around us breaking through the mist. It was so breath taking!

As we wind our way down the mountain we finally arrive at the car park.

As I go to pay for parking I start to feel these little stings around my arms. I was like what the hell is biting me??
I look around and I am swarmed buy a gang of midgies. These guys are ruthless.

So Milford Sound Tip One.

BRING BUG SPRAY!

As I walk back to the car the scenery hits me. Holy shit!!!
This is like out of a movie.
It was all overcast and really set the mood.

I found this cool bird kicking around in the bushes. Turns out it's a Weak, which is a flightless bird.

We made our way along the shore to the marina to find our boat for the tour.

We ended up going with Southern Discoveries. As they worked out with our time of arrival.
There are many different cruise ships to choose from but the all do the same route and offer the same snacks and drinks. So its much of a muchness with who you cruise with.

Now the cruise lasts for approximately two hours.
And you cruise through Milford Sound and up to the mouth of the Tasman sea.

There are 13 unique land marks that you pass on this cruise. As seen here in the map.

It is so awesome to see these huge waterfalls that go straight into the ocean!

Once we boarded the vessel we found our seat and away we went. Tea and coffee was complimentary.

Like I said earlier the clouds hung low and made for such a dramatic entrance into Milford Sound.

The first water falls we pass are the Bowen falls.
This 162 meter high waterfall supply's fresh water to Milford Sound and also is used to generate electricity.

It is such a a beautiful sight.

Next spot was Mitre peak but due to the weather it was not fully visible due to the cloud coverage.

Mitre peaks summit sits over a vertical mile at 1692 meters above sea level.

The next spot was the four sisters.

There were so many water falls all along the coastline going straight into the fjiord.

Then we passed a rock with a seal colony having a nap.

The boats were getting very close to the waterfalls.
It was pretty cool to experience up close the water falls while on the front of the boat.
But it was so windy and we all got wet🙂

Another famous water fall here is the fairy falls.
These wispy falls were spectacular!

Then we entered the mouth of Milford Sound where it opens up to the Tasman Sea. The water started to get very rough and the wind had picked up dramatically, so they turn the boat around and started our way back to dock.

On our way back in this waterfall was just turning into mist from the wind. Now if you didn't look closely you would have mist it.

Passing Seal Rock. Now this rock is famous within the seal community. It's the perfect rock to have a nice rest and catch that little bit of sun.

Then what do you think was coming up next???
Yep you guess it another water fall!!
But this one is called Stirling falls.
And it was a beast! They turned the boat so the front was so close to it. We all got sprayed from the water.

Milford Sound truly is a waterfall enthusiasts dream!!

We stopped off at an underwater observatory. Where you can have a look under the water in a reverse fishtank situation.
And also go for a quick kayak adventure.

Then we were back on our way past Bowen Falls and
Then returned to the dock.

Wow this really did live up to the hype!
Even though it was overcast and not the best weather it still was amazing to witness Milford Sound in all its glory.

I highly recommend visiting Milford Sound if you are ever at the bottom of the earth in New Zealand.

Now it was time for the five hour trip back to Queenstown 🙂

Happy travels!