Milford Sound: Marble Beaches, Forty-Dollar Campsites and Fresh Snow
14 Mar 2014
I’m just going to get this out of the way straight up, so I don’t have to waste time pretending to be unbiased:
If you’re going to New Zealand, go to Milford Sound.
Just do it. People will tell you that, blah blah blah, Milford Sound is overrated and teeming with tourists and sandflies. And, yes, there are lots of both of these things in Milford Sound—but one of the two is really easy to avoid. (You guess which one…)
And it looks like this…so, do you REALLY care about the sandflies?
Anyway, rewinding, about two weeks ago, Lisa and I ditched Macky in Queenstown (he was scared of the sandflies), rented a little yellow car and drove to Milford Sound. It was Lisa’s first time driving on the left and she did excellently and didn’t even get any flat tires unlike, um, some people.
The drive to Milford Sound is not like other drives. How to describe it… It is spectacular. It is otherworldly. It defies adjectives. There are waterfalls that make Niagara look lame and they don’t even have signposts because there are too many of them. This is the only landscape where it might be possible to get bored of waterfalls.
Photo Cred: Lisa Luna
Our first night, we camped a few kilometers outside of Te Anau on a beach of polished stones. The waves of Lake Te Anau had sorted the stones by size and, because it was raining, the wet rocks glistened like marbles.
And here is Lisa washing dishes on our marble beach:
The next morning, we stopped along the way to Milford Sound to hike up to Lake Marian. Somehow we had gotten it in our heads that this would be a nice, flat hike around a lake. Instead it was a straight-up-a-mountain-on-slippery-rocks-and-roots-for-an-hour-and-a-half kind of hike. It was still fun though, and we were lucky–the clouds cleared just as we reached the lake and we had a beautiful alpine lake all to ourselves. Pretty hard to come up with a cooler lunch spot than this…
And then we got to Milford Sound. Because we had stopped for a hike we arrived after all the other tour busses had left and once again, we felt like we had the place to ourselves. To be clear, Milford Sound is not really a town. There is one cafe, a Park Service office and the Milford Sound Lodge, which graciously allows you to camp in their yard for 22-dollars a person a night.
Wait, WHAT? Yes, that is a forty-four dollar campsite. Which might have been almost acceptable (supply and demand, etc.), if said forty-four dollar campsite hadn’t turned into a pond right around the time we were trying to go to bed. Luckily, I’m from Ohio, so I have some practice with flooding campsites, but it still wasn’t a pretty scene. 10 pm and there we are—two sopping 20-somethings, digging moats around our tent in the middle of a downpour. Awesome.
By the time we finally redirected the flooding, we were drenched. We were beyond drenched. Our skin was pruning. Oh and did I mention it was FREEZING? Everything was wet and the rain seemed to have no intention of stopping. In fact, it was still raining when we got up the next morning, not-so-bright but definitely early, for our kayaking trip.
However, as we were eating breakfast and wringing out our underwear in the lodge, the rain cleared up and we were rewarded for our freezing night. There was a fresh layer of snow on the mountains. Milford Sound is extraordinary without snow. With it, it surpasses imagination.
And then there was the kayaking…Let me put it this way.
This is how you should see Milford Sound.
Soon I’m going to write an entire post about our kayaking experience and why you should do it too, but for the moment, here are some takeaways:
1 Smartwool is a really, really fantastic invention.
My feet were drenched the entire time but thanks to my puffy Smartwool socks, they weren’t even cold. GUYS, THIS MUST BE MAGIC.
2 There is something special about Milford Sound.
In a kayak, so close to the water and so far beneath the towering peaks, you aren’t simply looking at the landscape–you are part of it. And that, my friends, is worth wet feet.
Photo Cred: Lisa Luna
Have you been to Milford Sound? What was your experience? Share your thoughts below!
Wow – Milford Sound looks fabulous! I visited Doubtful Sound instead when I was in NZ, so I can’t comment either way on the tourists or the sandflies, but if it’s anything like Doubtful Sound, I definitely would agree that kayaking is the best way to see it. I know exactly what you mean about feeling like you’re part of the landscape, so close to the water. I wish I could have seen it with snow though – even if it did mean a cold night before. (Smartwool – sounds like I need to investigate this…)
That’s awesome that you got to go to Doubtful Sound! I really wanted to but it wasn’t in the budget for this trip….
What an adventure! Syd, I love the story and adventure. Thanks for sharing the story and Lisa with me. You are the best. Auntie
I went to Milford Sound when I was in NZ and I’m so happy I did. Good advice putting that at the top of the post that you should go. When I was in Queenstown every man and his dog was humming and hawing about whether to spend the extra and drive down there or not.
So happy I did… such a beautiful place!
Ha, yeah, it is the Queenstown question. And I would say it’s worth it. A totally different experience from Qtown, to say the least.
I’d love to visit here! Despite the wet and cold, I think it would definitely be worth it. Great tip on the Smartwool – will remember to bring those!
Yeah, Smartwool is a New Zealand must-pack for sureee.
Such a beautiful place! Wouldn’t mind getting the feet wet, it looks fantastic.
It is worth it!
I’m a smartwool fan too, best socks ever and we have more than our fair share of soggy weather here in the Lake District. Love the pics, it really does look otherworldly, and I can’t understand why people would advise on not going just because of tourists and mini-beasts. If we followed that advice we’d never go anywhere!
haha, so true! apparently if you hit it at the wrong time, the sand flies can be INSANE but we were “lucky” because they don’t come out in the rain. Haha.
Stop it, Syd! You make it sound so good that every time I read your posts I want to pack up my stuff and head for NZ. I’m going to investigate Smartwool instead. You made those sound so good too. And at the moment they seem more affordable than that trip to NZ.
Ah, perhaps slightly. They might be the world’s most expensive socks so DON’T HATE ME.
A flooding campsite? No good! Though clearly you were equipped to deal with it, which is awesome. :)
I’m stuck between Milford Sound and Abel Tasman for my short trip to New Zealand, but the idea of kayaking in Milford Sound is really hard to pass up. Plus, your photos are beautiful.
I didn’t make it to Abel Tasman, unfortunately, but I heard good things. Frankly, you can’t really go wrong in NZ and no matter what you do you will have to come back!
Beautiful! The photos speak wonders of the place and I enjoyed your story – getting drenched must not have been fun but at least you enjoyed your overall experience and that’s what being an adventurer and a traveller is all about!!
Truth! :)
We were in Milford Sound in August 2012, and just as during our whole month in New Zealand, we were incredibly lucky with the weather! It was winter and we had a beautiful sunny day, and I agree with you Syd that the place has a special atmosphere and it’s not overrated at all! What I would really like to do one day is to go back there in summer and do the Milford track (it’s a 4-5 day walk), they say it’s one of the most amazing walks in the world!
HA you are lucky if you got a sunny day. They told us that almost never happens. Still gorgeous with clouds though. Yeaaaah, after the amount of rain we experienced I can’t say I’m super stoked to go back and do the Milford Track…But maybeeeee…..
So cool! The campsite does sound expensive but I guess that’s the norm in NZ :o
It’s pretty standard for campsites with lots of amenities (hot showers, kitchens, etc.) If you’re down to rough it you can easily camp for free or for 6 dollars/night in most places. :)
Ohhhhh my god, this looks amazing! I swear by Smartwool too—great stuff! Sounds like even with the rain and cold, it was all worth it :)
I would have lost so many fingers and toes by now if I didn’t have smartwool…
Have heard of Milford sound before but didnt really know what it was – a place or an activity.
Its so beautiful !
NZ is where ill be next year!
Yay for traveling to NZ! you’ve got to check milford out!
Absolutely gorgeous just like the rest of New Zealand. I am eager to continue to lean more about this amazing country as the plan is to head here at the end of 2014. There is so much spectacular scenery around Milford Sound – who wouldn’t want to go here? Honestly, it’s just utter bliss and I can’t wait to get the opportunity to experience this for ourselves. You clearly had a great time and this is an inspiration to anyone heading here (or planning on doing so)!
yay that you’re going to NZ! I might be coming back around then as well…if I ever manage to leave…
I am so %&#$#@$ jealous!!! (Yes, I censored myself, the social filter kicks in every so often) Sorry you were pruny & cold but what a fantastic opportunity. Seriously, my idea of a perfect day. :)
It WAS totally fucking fantastic!! (I don’t have a social filter…)
Yes. Agreed. That does look like an incredible area.
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I will never forget the drive in and out of Milford. One of the coolest experiences of my life.
I also remember that expensive lodge (was hoping we could find a spot to park up our campervan along the road for free but no!) and the bugs. We quickly learned to shut all windows and vents.
It really is extraordinary! And yeah the lodge is a bit of a rip off…
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