NZ Road Trip: South Island Day 4 Journey to Milford Sound

We drove the long road into Milford Sound that goes quite a ways South through Te Anau before turning back north into the park. A great deal of rain came down during the drive and as we entered the mountain district, hundreds of waterfalls appeared all around us. I’ve never seen so many waterfalls raining down from hundreds of feet above. It was spectacular.

We were surprised that there was a tunnel along the route. The Homer Tunnel runs for 1.2 km through a massive mountain along the route. The rest side of the tunnel is at 945 meters and runs downwards quite steeply, so it feels like you are actually traveling into the earth.

The drive into the park is spectacular and if it were not downpouring, we would have spent more time looking around. We arrived at the Milford Sound Lodge late on the afternoon and the rain let up, giving us an opportunity to take a walk and explore the area. Not a lot here, but outstanding and rugged beauty. This felt like the edge of the earth.

We enjoyed the showers and kitchen facilities at the lodge. Campsites were great and fairly private, except for the friendly Weka birds who would roam through on occasion.