Milford Sound Really is All That

I wrote this in 2016 or 2017 during the two years I lived in New Zealand. Some details — prices, hours, what’s open — may have changed, but the experience and my love for this place haven’t.

You hear a lot about Milford Sound — it is New Zealand’s most famous tourist destination and Rudyard Kipling called it the eighth wonder of the world. It was also voted the world’s top tourism destination. I’m here to tell you both of those things are justified.

Milford Sound is one of many sounds in Fiordland National Park. It was pictures of this park that originally made me set my sights on coming to New Zealand. My ex-husband and I saw pictures of people kayaking through it and I’d been dreaming about it ever since. I worked in Alaska when I was getting my undergraduate degree and loved the ice and water and mountains. Fiordland National Park is similar in a lot of ways — but instead of bears you have Keas and instead of mosquitos you have sand flies. Mean, cruel sand flies. More on those in a moment.

Milford Sound is the most popular of the sounds because it’s the only one accessible by road — it’s about 120 kilometres to drive from Te Anau to Milford but it is a slow drive. The road winds constantly with many ups and downs and you can’t go two minutes without someone wanting to stop and stare and take a picture. I expected the Sound to be beautiful, but the drive there was truly the most amazing drive I’ve ever been on. I wrote about the road to Milford in a separate blog post.

There’s a small settlement at Milford Sound but don’t expect much. It has a campground (book ahead), a lodge, kayak rental, and the boat terminal — and that’s about it. We stayed at the campground and this is where the Keas tried to eat our gear and the sand flies drove us indoors.

About those sand flies. New Zealand sand flies are not like the sand flies you may have encountered elsewhere. They are relentless, they are everywhere at Milford Sound, and the bites itch for days. Bring strong insect repellent and cover up as much as you can bear to. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

We took a cruise on the Sound — there are several operators to choose from and I’d recommend booking ahead, especially in summer. The cruises take you through the Sound past sheer cliff faces, enormous waterfalls, and wildlife including seals, dolphins, and the rare Fiordland crested penguin. To put the size and scale into perspective — the yellow dots at the bottom of one of my photos are kayakers.

A note if you’re planning the cruise and underwater observatory combination — the Milford Sound Underwater Observatory was damaged in a storm in September 2024 and is currently under repair with no known reopening date. Check the operator websites for current availability before booking.

The diving at Milford Sound is also supposed to be extraordinary — my friend David got his dry suit certification specifically to dive here, which tells you something about both the appeal of the place and the temperature of the water. Jacques Cousteau rated it as one of the top dive sites in the world.

Milford Sound is a long way from anywhere. It takes real effort to get there. It is worth every minute of that effort. Go.