Milford Sound Small-Group Tour with Cruise and Lunch from Queenstown

From Queenstown along Lake Wakatipu

Queenstown, on the shore of Lake Wakatipu in the Southern Lakes region, is the adventure capital of New Zealand and the most popular starting point for a Milford Sound day trip from Queenstown. The tour leaves in the early morning, and in the small vehicle your guide can point out the Remarkables range and the farms of the Wakatipu Basin as dawn lights the mountains.

The road runs south beside the lake to its southern tip at Kingston, then crosses the open tussock and sheep country of Northern Southland. Travelling in a small group makes the long drive easier: everyone has a window, there is time for questions, and the guide adapts the stops to the weather and the group, which a large coach cannot always do.

Te Anau, the lakeside gateway

After about 2 hours you reach Te Anau, a relaxed town on the shore of Lake Te Anau, the largest lake in the South Island. The lake's western arms reach deep into Fiordland National Park, and the mountains on the far shore give you the first real taste of the wilderness ahead.

The group takes a short break here to stretch, use the restrooms and grab a hot drink, because there are no towns, shops or fuel stations for the next 120 kilometres to Milford Sound. Your guide uses the stop to explain the history of Fiordland National Park, created in 1952, and its place in the Te Wāhipounamu World Heritage Area.

The Milford Road and the Eglinton Valley

Beyond Te Anau the Milford Road, one of the world's great alpine drives, enters the Eglinton Valley. The valley floor is a wide carpet of golden tussock between walls of beech forest, and on a clear morning the peaks at the head of the valley stand out sharply against the sky. It is one of the best stretches for photos on any Milford Road tour.

Stops here may include the Mirror Lakes, where the Earl Mountains are reflected in still water beside a short boardwalk, and viewpoints over the valley and Lake Gunn. The exact stops vary with the season, the light and the traffic, but there are many of them, so you never sit for long without a chance to step out and breathe the fresh mountain air.

The Darran Mountains, kea and the road tunnel

Past The Divide, the lowest pass across the Southern Alps, the road enters the Hollyford Valley and climbs toward the Darran Mountains, a wall of granite peaks often draped in snow and laced with waterfalls. Around Monkey Creek and the tunnel approach you may meet kea, the clever, curious alpine parrots found only in New Zealand, which love to inspect visitors and their vehicles.

The road then plunges through a road tunnel about 1.2 kilometres long, cut through the mountain and opened in the 1950s, and winds down the Cleddau Valley in tight bends. Many travellers ask how to get to Milford Sound safely in winter; with a local guide who drives this road constantly and knows its conditions, you can simply enjoy the views.

Milford Sound boutique cruise and picnic lunch

At Milford Sound you board a boutique vessel for a 1.5-hour cruise with fewer passengers than the big boats, which lets the skipper bring you close to the waterfalls and the wildlife. You sail beneath Mitre Peak, 1,692 metres high, past Lady Bowen Falls and Stirling Falls, and watch for fur seals on the rocks and dolphins in the water. Your picnic lunch, with water and snacks, is enjoyed by the fiord.

With the default option you return to Queenstown by road, arriving in the evening about 13 hours after pickup. If you choose the other option, a scenic small-plane flight carries you from Milford Sound back to Queenstown over the peaks, glaciers and lakes of Fiordland, one of the most spectacular flights in New Zealand, and shortens the day to about 11 hours.