Milford Sound: the Coach & Nature Cruise

Day 5 took us on the dreamiest adventure of the whole trip, a cruise through Milford Sound! 💙🇳🇿

We had saved it for the finale, and it was pure magic. Towering cliffs, misty waterfalls, and the mighty Mitre Peak standing proud over all of it.

Getting there

We booked the Southern Discoveries Coach & Nature Cruise, with an easy bus pick-up and drop-off from Te Anau. After days behind the wheel ourselves, it was nice to let someone else drive.

The coach ride is about 2.5 hours of jaw-dropping views before you even hit the water 😍 The road winds through the Eglinton Valley, past the Mirror Lakes and beech forest, with the driver pointing things out along the way.

The Eglinton Valley on the coach ride in.

The Mirror Lakes on the drive in, still as glass that morning.

More of the Mirror Lakes. Not a ripple on the water.

A waterfall right by the road on the way to Milford.

Tickets in hand. Our Southern Discoveries Coach & Nature Cruise.

Tip: Pick-up for our cruise was from the Te Anau i-Site early in the morning. Milford is a long way from anywhere with zero phone service, so download anything you need and don’t rely on a signal once you’re out there.

On the water

Then you are out on the fiord, and the size of it just hits you. We had blue sky and sunshine, which is a treat, as Milford is one of the wettest places in the world.

Out on the water at last, Mitre Peak watching over us.

Snow on the tops, sunshine on the water.

We saw Lady Bowen Falls (162 m) and Stirling Falls (155 m), and the boat nosed right in close to the falls.

Nosing right up to the falls.

My husband on deck as we edged in under the falls.

Bonus: we saw fur seals on the rocks, just living their best life 🦭

My husband out on the back deck.

A fiord, not a sound

Fun fact: it is not actually a “sound” at all. It’s a fiord, carved by glaciers rather than a river. So why call it a sound? When it was named, the word “fiord” hadn’t made it into English yet, so “sound” it was.

Waterfalls pouring off the cliffs everywhere you look.

Looking back up the fiord from the boat.

Note: Milford is beautiful in the rain and in the sun. Rain means hundreds of extra waterfalls, sun means mirror reflections. Don’t cancel if the forecast looks grey.

One last big waterfall on the way back to the wharf.