Tuesday 31st January 2023
We’ve got a fairly long drive to Milford Sounds, so we stopped off for some breakfast at Bracken Hall, where we shared a Venison pie. It wasn’t the best pie we’ve had but it was pretty good.
As we drove towards Milford Sounds, the scenery was just stunning and we stopped a few times for some quick photos. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to do any of the longer walks, but it was still awesome to just see the beautiful views.
Our longest stop was at mirror lakes. It’s a 5 minute walk from the car park to the lake and definitely worth seeing. We were lucky that it was a clear day so the reflections off the lake were stunning.
Just before we reached Milford Sounds, we drive through the impressive Homer tunnel. The tunnel itself is one way and operated by traffic lights, but we didn’t have to wait long.
When we arrived at Milford Sounds, there were some very friendly and cute looking ducks in the car park. Car parking was $25 for up to 5 hours and this seemed to be the only option. However, after we’d paid and gone to the visitor centre we noticed a map to a free car park (which is just an additional 10 minutes walk away). We hadn’t noticed any signs for this on our way in and as we’d already paid it was too late.
We’d arrived in plenty of time before our cruise, so had time to do the Milford foreshore walk. The walk is a relatively short loop along the waterfront and the scenery was gorgeous, despite the dubious weather.
At the information centre is a cafe selling hot and cold food and snacks, so we bought a venison pie and a carrot cake to share. The food was pretty decent and the cake slice was a very generous portion.
It was soon time for us to head to the cruise terminal, which is around a 10 minute walk from the car park and information centre. We had booked with Mitre peak for the 3.45pm departure, and the boat seemed to be one of the smaller ones (which I think was a good thing as we could get closer to the waterfalls). There was plenty of room on the boat, as there were way fewer people that the total capacity. Most people say outside, so the inside cabin was pretty empty.
It was a very relaxing cruise and the scenery was just stunning. On the day we went it was a bit wet and intermittently cloudy, however this didn’t detract from our experience. The sounds looked very magical and mystical in the slight haze.
We also got to see several waterfalls on the cruise, which were very impressive.
At a couple of spots along the way, the captain pointed out some seals (including a few baby seals) chilling out on the rocks.
After disembarking, we walked back to the car park for the drive to Te Anau, where we’re staying overnight.
As we queued at the traffic lights outside the Homer Tunnel on our way back, a huge Kea landed on the car in front! It was properly trying to get into the car, using its beak to try and prise open various bits of the car. It eventually gave up, and decided to have a go on our car! It was impressive getting to see these majestic birds so close up, but we were slightly concerned they’d scratch our hire car.
By the time we arrived in Te Anau it was around 8pm. We checked in at the Te Anau Top 10 Holiday Park, and dropped off our bags before heading out for dinner. The accommodation itself was quite basic (the main disadvantage was that it had a big hot water tank in the room but no air con so was uncomfortably hot) but the location is excellent so it was only a few minutes walk to the main town centre.
We were lucky to get the last table at La Toscana Pizzeria (they close at 8.30pm) and shared a garlic bread, a chicken pizza, and a pepperoni pizza between us. The food was very good, though definitely not the best pizzas we’ve had. We had a chocolate cake for dessert, which was lovely.
After eating, we walked down to lakeshore which was looking beautiful in the fading light.
By this time it was getting late and most places in Te Anau seemed to be closed so we went back to the motel for the night.
Emma and Pete’s Asian Adventure 