Milford Sound Tour & Cruise from Queenstown including Lunch

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Lake Te Anau, Te Anau, Fiordland National Park New Zealand

o Te Anau is known as the Walking Capital of the World. The mountains to the left are the Kepler Mountains, home of the Kepler Track, one of the popular walking tracks in the area. Te Anau is the gateway to Milford Sound and the Fiordland National Park. The town has a permanent population of approximately 2,500 people but this fluctuates greatly in summer when the town gets an influx of fishermen, hunters, outdoor pursuit seekers and holiday makers. It’s a popular holiday destination. We stop here for morning & afternoon breaks and comfort stops.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Eglinton Valley, Milford Sound New Zealand

o Eglington Valley is named by Quintin MacKinnon, who named the valley after the Earl of Eglington of Scotland. We will be following the Eglington River whose source is the small lake of Lake Fergus, which is situated in the Main Divide of the Southern Alps. The glacial valley of the Eglington is not only a truly magnificent place for photos, but also a perfect place to put the size of this valley into perspective. The distance from this road to the base of the tree-line; out to the left is 2.4km. An extremely large glacier was responsible for clearing out this valley thousands of years ago. Everything in this region is huge so it is very easy to lose perspective of this as we travel through the mountains.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Mirror Lakes Walk, Milford Road,, Fiordland National Park New Zealand

o Mirror Lakes where most of the time the nearby mountains are reflected in the lakes. Being small, the lakes have less chance of being roughened by the winds compared to their larger counterparts and the large quantity of tannins leached from the soil into the waters give these lakes a much clearer mirror effect than many of the other lakes in the region. It is here you have the opportunity to walk along a boardwalk listening for Bellbirds and Tui’s which are protected native birds, whilst watching Black Scaups dive for food on the bottom of the lake between the various species of beech trees. These forests are said to be 135 million years old. We will drop you off at one end of the walkway and you can re-join the coach in 10 minutes at the far end of the board walk if you wish to go for a walk.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Monkey Creek, Milford Sound New Zealand

o Monkey Creek is named after one of three Government employees entrusted yearly to camp here and find a path through the mountains. Eventually his monkey like climbing skills allowed him to find a path, which though not particularly safe, was used for many years for guided walking tours. It is here we have the opportunity to drink the water or full your water bottles. Because this water is flowing directly from the mountains it is one of the few remaining places it is safe to taste fresh water without contamination and you realise without chemicals doesn’t really have a taste but is extremely refreshing. Be careful filling your water bottles because the water is very cold. Also don’t be surprised if a Kea or two drop in to say hello!

Duration: 10 minutes

Pass By: Homer Tunnel, 94 S.h., Milford Sound New Zealand

o As we head up towards the Homer Tunnel, on the right hand side you can see the remains of a camp including the oven in which the meals and bread were cooked. The shed to the left was designed to house the snow plough and was built in 1983. After its construction it was found that the doorway had not been made wide enough and the plough was not able to be housed there. It is now kept at the camp at Knobs Flat. The building today is known as the Chapel as it is one of the few areas of this region that has never been affected by avalanche.

Stop At: Cruise Milford, 1 Milford Sound Hwy, Milford Sound 9679, New Zealand

o With Cruise Milford, you’ll be travelling on smaller boats, which are less crowded and where our local crew offer a much more informative and personal tour of Milford Sound. We really love showing visitors this amazing place and we know you will enjoy it as much as we do. Fiordland is a designated World Heritage Area that takes you back in time to a magical wilderness that you may have thought no longer existed.

Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes

Stop At: The Chasm Walk, Milford Road State Highway 94 , Fiordland National Park, Te Anau, Fiordland National Park New Zealand

o Here you will have the opportunity to go for a 15 minute walk around a loop for photos. The coach will drop you off at one end of the board walk and pick you up at the other end in 15 minutes. Please be back at the coach on time. The walk into the Chasm will take you to a magnificent view of crystal clear waters rushing through a natural chasm where the Cleddau River has carved its way through the solid rock.

Duration: 10 minutes