Milford Sound is one of the world’s greatest natural settings. Until recently, the only ways in were by boat or to take the 3 day Milford Track. For the last few decades, ever since the Homer Tunnel was completed, the sound has been accessible by car or bus. With that access has come more opportunities to see the sound, such as ocean kayaking. During our visit we spent a full day kayaking the sound and experienced the full range of weather it has to offer up to and including hail and very strong gusting winds. It is the sort of place that lets you know that NATURE is in charge, not you.

Rafted up in the middle of our trip, we enjoyed a snack and a wonderful view. This image was taken looking towards the Tasman sea.

During our day of kayaking we experienced Sterling Falls from up close as well as New Zealand fur seals playing in the water and lounging on rocks. The operator we chose motor boated us out 6 km and then we spent the day paddling back. Many of the other operators have you paddle out and back so you only get to experience half the area we were able to explore.

Sterling Falls

Our second day on Milford Sound was a different experience. We took an overnight cruise which allowed us to view more of the sounds all the way out to the Tasman sea and back. The boat made two trips around the sound, one in the evening after we boarded and another at sunrise the next morning. Most passengers ate a relaxed dinner and breakfast during these circuits, I ate as fast as I could and headed out on deck.

Other Worldy

A Little Perspective. The small white thing in the middle ground is a cruise ship.