Days 8 and 9. Drive from Queenstown to Manapouri and Milford Sound

On the morning of February 8, I checked out of the hotel. Once again without ever meeting the manager, I left the room key in the box and headed toward Te Anau. As always, the road was full of beautiful views, so I had to stop frequently to take photos.

That day I decided to go straight to Milford first and only check into my hotel late in the evening, since Booking said check-in at the Manapouri hotel was possible until midnight.

The road from Te Anau to Milford Sound is impressive. Over the course of 120 km you drive past beautiful lakes, mountain rivers, forests, and mountains, all of which the road signs promise in just two hours, though if you stop along the way the drive can easily stretch to four.

Do not forget to fill the tank in Te Anau, because you will not see a single gas station on the way. There seems to be a possibility to refuel in Milford itself, but I would not rely on it. I only saw one station there, and it did not inspire confidence. Unfortunately, I do not remember the fuel price.

On the way to Milford you pass through the Homer Tunnel, 1.25 km long. Traffic inside is one-way at a time and controlled by lights. Online I had seen descriptions saying you can only drive through it during certain hours and that passing at night is either impossible or problematic. I did not find any actual information about that on site. The only issue I noticed was that the traffic light is switched off at night, but two passenger cars could still pass each other in the tunnel if necessary.

There is not much to do in Milford itself. Mostly it is cruises on the fjord, and you can buy them right there. I wanted to use the website and book my ticket in advance, but did not. There were plenty of free seats on the boat. At the last minute, travelers from two boats belonging to different companies were even put together on one vessel, and it still was not crowded.

Cruise liners like this come into Milford, but they cannot board or disembark passengers there because the pier is not suitable for that:

Also, once you leave Te Anau, mobile coverage disappears completely, so you will only be able to make calls or use the internet once you get back there, unless you buy very expensive Wi-Fi traffic in Milford Sound. In general, the whole southern coast of New Zealand suffers from poor signal coverage. So download everything you might need on the road in advance.

The main downside of this place, and of some other parts of New Zealand too, is the sandflies. That alone would not be so bad, except that they bite. Online I had read several posts saying the bites are very painful and that the spot hurts afterwards because the flies literally gnaw a piece of skin. I never quite experienced the full effect, probably because I brushed them off before they could finish. In general, they are extremely annoying and keep trying to land on you even after you scare them away. I saw people wearing hats with protective nets. There were probably many places in New Zealand where I could have bought repellent spray, but I underestimated the problem, and by the time they really started to bother me there was nowhere left to buy it.

After cruising along the fjord under overcast skies and seeing the ocean, I headed back to Te Anau and then on to Manapouri. After checking into the hotel and grabbing a bite to eat, I went to look around the town, but found nothing particularly interesting apart from a magnificent lake with a beautiful view. When the sun starts to go down, the lake looks almost ominous, and the mountains in the middle begin to resemble giant sleeping beasts rather than mountains.

The next morning, February 9, I set off for Milford Sound again. The weather was improving, and there was hope it would be sunny there. I devoted the whole day to Milford and did not regret it. Since I had time, I walked to some of the sights marked by signs along the road, but unfortunately I missed the turnoff to the Hollyford Track. I only discovered that trail later, while writing this article. Well, that gives me a reason to come back.