Just FYI, this is not a sponsored post. I paid $150 dollars for this tour and despite the fact that that’s basically 75% of my monthly income at the moment, I don’t regret it at all.

When I wrote about Milford Sound last week I promised you a full briefing on our kayak adventure. At the risk of appearing gushy and emotional, I will say that this is one of the coolest things I’ve done in New Zealand, if not ever. Here are 10 good reasons to explore Milford Sound with Rosco’s Kayaks.

1 It’s the only locally-owned tour company left in Milford Sound. Yes, that’s right. Most of the boat companies (and the one other kayak company) are owned by big tourism conglomerates like Real Journeys. Not Rosco’s. Rosco’s is owned by Rosco.

2 Speaking of Rosco, he seems like a total badass. Okay, I didn’t meet him personally but I did hear that he charters helicopters to fly all of his employees up to the top of Mitre Peak for team meetings. If I could kayak in a straight line, I would totally apply to be a guide.

3 They have enough polypropylene base layers and fuzzy sweaters to clothe an army — so basically, even though you are sitting in a piece of plastic in a freezing cold downpour, you won’t be cold. And even if your tent floods the night before your adventure and everything you owned is COMPLETELY SOPPING, Rosco’s has got your back (pun intended). Also, the fuzzies are quite 80s chic, as Lisa models below.

4 The guides are totally awesome and won’t even laugh at you when you insist on making the entire group stop so you can clamber out of your kayak on an extremely slippery, rocky beach and pee behind a boulder. Obviously, this is hypothetical and didn’t happen to anyone I know.

5 You will learn lots of cool stuff about Milford Sound, including but not limited to, the fact that Milford Sound is actually a fiord, not a sound. Sounds are carved by rivers, while fiords are formed by glaciers. After the glacier recedes, the ocean comes in and fills up the hole. Of course, the “discoverers” of Milford Sound didn’t know that, but they have since compensated by naming the entire park Fiordlands. Another factoid — the water of Milford Sound is so dark because it is steeped in tannin from the leaves of the trees on the mountain sides. So basically, Milford Sound is just one gigantic, salty, extremely deep (like 400m) teapot. The dark fresh water from the mountain streams sits on top of the ocean water and blocks out a lot of the sunlight, creating all sorts of cool ecosystems and habitats that I probably should know more about.

6 You can fill up your water bottle straight from a waterfall. ‘Nuff said.

7 Your guide will allow you to paddle right up to the base of a gigantic 160m tall waterfall. And then they might become a little alarmed at how close you actually get. But, hey, not my fault I had a competitive whitewater kayaker steering my boat.

8 You might see wildlife. Of course, seeing wildlife is always a bit of a crapshoot. On our trip we only saw one seal and he happened to be fast asleep. However, there are dusky dolphins, seals and all sorts cool critters in Milford Sound. You never know what you’re going to see, but ask yourself this: if you’re going to see dolphins, do you want to see them from a tour boat or FROM A KAYAK? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

9 You will experience the weather. When we started our trip it was pouring rain and completely socked in. Twenty minutes later it cleared up and we saw snow on the mountains. Twenty minutes after that the clouds rolled back in, it started to rain and the wind kicked up. It went through this cycle at least three times while we were on the water. I have never seen weather change this fast. If you spend an hour or less on the sound you will miss this, and while you might be okay with missing the rain, the experience of watching the weather change around you and really feeling those changes beneath your boat — well, it’s worth getting wet.

10 You will realize how big and beautiful Milford Sound really is. I’m totally biased here, but I’m convinced that you HAVE to see this place from a kayak. Being so small and close to the water gives you a new sense of perspective. Milford Sound is beautiful no matter how you look at it, but it’s also way, way, WAY bigger than it looks. Like see that wee little boat by my head in the picture below? That’s a 12-story cruise ship. Hoooooooly shit, right?

***Note: All of these photos were taken by the lovely Lisa Luna because my camera is a huge wimp when it comes to water.***

What do you think? Are kayak trips for you? Share your thoughts below!