The area around Te Anau is breathtakingly beautiful and none more so than Milford Sound.
We'd originally planned to drive the 120Km infamous Milford Road to Milford Sound ourselves in the van.
After speaking to the lady at the campsite, she'd told us that you had to carry snow chains or otherwise be fined NZ$ 200 and the risk of avalanches was quite high at this time of year.

As we had no chains and the thought of being caught up in an avalanche, we booked ourselves on an organized trip with Real Journeys.



Milford Road provides some breathtaking scenery and it was great for us both to be able to take it in.
Sparkling lakes and glorious mountains accompany you along the way as you weave in and out of the seemingly endless countryside.

Our first stop were the Mirror Lakes, which were fantastic under the early morning sunshine.
Passing through the Holyford Valley, we arrived at the Homer Tunnel which is 1.2Km long. It's single lane, pitch black and very steep - great fun!
Emerging safely out of the other end, you're rewarded with the spectacular Cleddau Valley.

Also called the Valley of the Thousand Waterfalls, when it's raining. Milford receives more than 300 inches of rain each year and when it rains, the waterfalls gush tonnes of water out.
Milford Sound is a magical place and the scenery is unbelievable. Mitre Peak towers a full mile over the sound and provides some great photo opportunities.

The best way to fully appreciate the Sound is to get out onto the water, so we boarded our boat and made our way out into the Sound.


Words cannot really show you the true beauty of Milford Sound, so enjoy the pictures.

Real Journeys bus







Mirror Lakes















Scary stuff!



Homer Tunnel



Mitre Peak towering over Milford Sound