Long Trip - Day 14 Milford Sound
As I woke up quite late and I stopped on the way to see some places, I arrived to Milford Sound after 5 pm. Te Anau - Milford road is 120 km, allow 2 hours with no stops. The road is closed from 5:30 pm till 7:00 am the road is closed so no turning back once I arrived there. The only accommodation available were The Milford Lounge or overnight cruises ( leaving at 5 pm) , no other legal option for camping. I was forced to stay in the lodge where a dorm bed costs 30 nzd, a double cabin 75 nzd. They had the most ridiculous prices for the Internet ever! No shops in Milford Sound, only one restaurant near the car park. In the morning I took the earliest cruise from Jucy Cruize - 50 nzd/ person. A magazine from Auckland airport had a discount voucher - second adult pays 50% of the price. It seemed all morning cruises were cheaper than those in the afternoon. Similar cruises in the afternoon cost 60- 79 nzd. The cruise was fantastic! The weather was great! Cold but sunny, no wind at all. After 20 minutes 3 bottlenose dolphins joined us and started playing with the boat for another half an hour what is quite unique. Firstly, the boat stopped to enjoy them, once we moved forward, dolphins started chasing the boat. They were so playful, 6-7 dolphins was swimming next to us jumping out from the water. An amazing experience. The views of the fiord were amazing, snow was covering peaks reflected in calm water as in a mirror, many waterfalls with small rainbows. On the way back we saw a small colony of baby sea lions resting on a rock. People who bought extra tickets to underwater observatory left the vessel at one point. Once, the boat stopped very close to the Stirling Falls where everyone could feel breeze, getting a little bit wet. The cruise took almost 2 hours. The rest of the day - driving to Queenstown, so far the car is good. Fingers crossed.
As I woke up quite late and I stopped on the way to see some places, I arrived to Milford Sound after 5 pm. Te Anau - Milford road is 120 km, allow 2 hours with no stops. The road is closed from 5:30 pm till 7:00 am the road is closed so no turning back once I arrived there. The only accommodation available were The Milford Lounge or overnight cruises ( leaving at 5 pm) , no other legal option for camping. I was forced to stay in the lodge where a dorm bed costs 30 nzd, a double cabin 75 nzd. They had the most ridiculous prices for the Internet ever! No shops in Milford Sound, only one restaurant near the car park. In the morning I took the earliest cruise from Jucy Cruize - 50 nzd/ person. A magazine from Auckland airport had a discount voucher - second adult pays 50% of the price. It seemed all morning cruises were cheaper than those in the afternoon. Similar cruises in the afternoon cost 60- 79 nzd. The cruise was fantastic! The weather was great! Cold but sunny, no wind at all. After 20 minutes 3 bottlenose dolphins joined us and started playing with the boat for another half an hour what is quite unique. Firstly, the boat stopped to enjoy them, once we moved forward, dolphins started chasing the boat. They were so playful, 6-7 dolphins was swimming next to us jumping out from the water. An amazing experience. The views of the fiord were amazing, snow was covering peaks reflected in calm water as in a mirror, many waterfalls with small rainbows. On the way back we saw a small colony of baby sea lions resting on a rock. People who bought extra tickets to underwater observatory left the vessel at one point. Once, the boat stopped very close to the Stirling Falls where everyone could feel breeze, getting a little bit wet. The cruise took almost 2 hours. The rest of the day - driving to Queenstown, so far the car is good. Fingers crossed.
 |
| Road to Milford Sound |
 |
| Road to Milford Sound |
 |
| Road to Milford Sound |
 |
| Road to Milford Sound near the tunnel |
 |
| Road to Milford Sound tunnel |
 |
| Fjords |
 |
| Fjords |
 |
| Cabins |
 |
| No comments - Internet prices |
 |
| Road from Milford Sound |
 |
| Cascade Creek |
 |
| Cascade Creek |
 |
| Perfect rest area before Milford Sound |
 |
| Traffic on the road |
 |
| Near Queenstown |
No comments:
Post a Comment