A journey you never forget | What to see in the South Island part 1 | New Zealand - Milford Sound

Welcome to New Zealand. These are the breathtaking landscapes you envision when you're thinking about this incredible country. It's an untouched wilderness of incredible beauty that draws tourists from around the world. Of course, it's also the land of the legendary Hobbiton and many other locations from the Lord of the Rings. Here you can witness the incredibly stunning starry sky and be among the first on the planet to greet the dawn. You will encounter millennia-old glaciers and countless other breathtaking sights all around you. But what's New Zealand like in reality and what can you do here on your vacation? That's what we're here to explore over the next few weeks and we will share it all with you. Before we embark on our journey, let's start by understanding what New Zealand is and Google Maps will help us with that. The country primarily consists of two islands, the North Island and the South Island. New Zealand is known for being one of the less settled regions, with the Maori people being the first to inhabit these lands. You might recognize the Maori from their famous Haka war dance, often performed at various competitions such as rugby. But now let's get back to our journey. Despite the country's relative small size, it's packed with natural wonders. In fact, we've chosen to spend the next few weeks exploring just the South Island, especially its stunning central and southwest regions. You can certainly visit more places in two weeks, but we still wanted it to be a vacation and have some time to enjoy these captivating views. At the core of these breathtaking landscapes lies the city of Queenstown, often held as the most beautiful city in New Zealand. By the way, if you ever plan to visit Queenstown, I highly recommend getting here by plane because the view from the window definitely adds a special thrill to the experience. And I would recommend choosing a seat A on the left side if you're flying from Europe or the North Island. But to be fair, the view from any window seat is incredibly beautiful. As you probably noticed, the breathtaking views begin even before you set your foot on the ground. And once you do, the real adventure begins. And it's not with passport control, as you might expect, but with biosecurity checks. At these checkpoints, you must declare any medicines, food items, and even clothings and shoes that could potentially carry any soil particles. In November 2022 alone, over 400 tourists were fined for not declaring one or more of the items I just mentioned. To avoid the fine, you have to list all the items you have in this declaration and be prepared for a very long queue. One of the reasons of which is that your luggage has to be scanned to double-check that you declared all the items. Such rigorous controls is just a way to protect the country's unique ecosystem. Even something as seemingly innocious as dirt on a shoe could pose a deadly threat to numerous native animals and plants. But take my word for it, all these measures are worth it. And with these checks behind us, we couldn't help but smile with joy knowing that we had finally arrived. After clearing customs, we went to pick up a rental car we had rented for our entire trip, which by the way cost us a fortune. We left the airport and we are searching for our rental car. Not sure where to find the parking. It seems like the rental car park situation can be quite confusing here. Lia went back to the rental company to ask about it and I see, yeah, I see her returning now. As we later found out at the airport, it's actually quite simple. All we had to do was to follow these signs on the pavement and they led us to the right spot. By the way, New Zealand follows left-hand traffic and right-hand drive, but fortunately for us, we have already adapted to this, having lived in Australia. So, what's our plan for the next two weeks? The first part of our journey, including this video, is about New Zealand's most popular tourist destination, Milford Sound, located nearly Then we plan to return to the city and try ourselves in snowboarding on some of the southern hemisphere's finest slopes and explore the scenic surroundings of Queenstown. Following that, we plan to stargaze at Lake Tekapo and visit the country's highest mountain, Mount Cook. As a bonus, we'll visit the picturesque surroundings of the town of Wanaka. To reach all of these destinations from our checklist, we've planned to cover approximately 2,000 kilometers and no way we could do it without a car in two weeks. So, not wasting a second right from the airport, we set off towards Milford Sound. The road from Queenstown to Milford Sound is quite long, so we decided to stop halfway in the small town of Teano. We have allocated four days for this initial part of the journey, including our arrival day. Our plan involves a stop and a brief hike at the beginning of one of the fjords, a visit to Milford Sound itself and an ascent up one of the mountains on our way back. If you're solely interested in Milford Sound, you can do this in a single day by car or you can take a tour from Queenstown, where you'll be dropped off and picked up after the Milford Sound cruise. However, we wanted to make the most of this part of the trip, especially given we have to travel 300 kilometers one way, so the goal was to see everything and more. Additionally, Teano is known to be the gateway to Fioreland National Park, making it a popular stop for refueling, stocking up on supplies and deciding whether you'll need tire chains for the journey to Milford Sound. After all, Teano is the last settlement for the next 120 kilometers of the road leading to the fjord. By the way, there won't be any mobile reception along the entire route from Teano to Milford Sound and within Milford Sound itself, so be sure you have pre-loaded a map of the area and some good music for the drive. But now we're checking in our cozy farmhouse and the highlight of the night, COVID self-testing, which is a requirement upon arrival. According to local regulations, you're obliged to undergo and report your test results on the first and the fifth day of your arrival. In the event of positive result, you have to self-isolate and apparently start crying over your travel plans. Our COVID test results were negative, which meant this video will have some beautiful places to show. Morning. Today is a relaxed day for us. We're catching up on sleep after our super early flight yesterday, as you can probably tell from my sleepy face. Additionally, the weather today is quite rainy or you could even call it snowy. And why to go anywhere when the view right from the window is like this? This isn't our first time Airbnb-ing on a farm and this choice has never disappointed us. Highly recommended. Another perk of staying on a farm is the chance to interact with the locals, who are quite exotic for the city guys like us. Besides lots of horses and sheep, which you would also see along the roads, expect to see lots of deer here, as New Zealand is the world's largest exporter of venison. But these particular deer were quite skittish and would flee at any attempt to get closer. So these shots are the closest we managed to get. But this trip is all about adventure, so after spending some time home, we decided to head off on a hike along Lake Tiano on the other side of the town. The trail we chose is the starting point of a much longer 60k multi-day circuit track with roughly 1300 meters elevation leading further into the depth of Fiordland. While obviously the most stunning views are at the very top, we still wanted to reach the nearest lookout point to witness some of the surrounding landscapes with our own eyes. We've started our first hike and I believe it's the only one for today. We'll be walking for an hour and a half along Lake Tiano to reach the nearest campground called Broad Bay. Once we get there, we'll decide whether or not to continue our ascent up the mountain because it depends on the weather conditions and the time we arrive. Even though it says this walk would only take an hour and a half, the area itself is incredibly beautiful with small mountain streams flowing right across the track, so we're spending a lot of time admiring the scenery and capturing all of it on camera. So as I said, once we get there, we'll decide whether or not to continue or perhaps just turn back as we also need to prepare for our trip to Milford Sound tomorrow. I believe I haven't mentioned this yet, but as you might have guessed, it's winter. So it's quite surprising for us to see such vibrant green grass and forests in the middle of winter. Guess partly because we are more accustomed to slightly faint landscapes in Australia or at least in our state Victoria. By the way, it's worth mentioning that Tiano is often referred as one of the world's hiking capitals, as three of nine longest routes in New Zealand start from here and we are tackling a part of one of them. In the end, after reaching the campground and going about 150 meters up, we realized that if we continued, we would have to make the return journey in complete darkness. So not to miss out on the beautiful views from the above, we decided to head back to the campground, get closer to the water and use a small life hack. We are walking back to the car and probably have covered about half of the way by now and it's getting quite dark. Fortunately, we brought head torches with us, as without them we would be stumbling in complete darkness. So our next task is to get back to the car and head to the store to buy some supplies for the next two days, because where are we going? There won't be any shops or gas stations, so we need to bring everything with us and pack as much as possible. Highly recommend everyone to carry a flashlight for unexpected night walks through the forest like this one. And when we got back home and started preparing dinner, suddenly a very furry local neighbor decided to pay a visit. He peered calmly through the glass of our door and patiently waited for us to let him inside to warm up. Let me introduce you guys. This is Klaus. I distinctly remember my first thoughts upon seeing him. This isn't a cat, it's more like a little furry lamb. Well, he really does look like one. Perhaps he's like Mowgli, transformed into a lamb simply by living on a sheep farm with sheep. Klaus already knew exactly where he wanted to go and the first thing he did was lie down on the heated kitchen floor and started cleaning himself. And right after that, like a magic, he turned into an incredibly playful and adorable cat. After warming up a bit, Klaus went back outside with a dignified gait. Despite the near zero temperature, he seemed to be quite comfortable in his sheep-like furry coat. The next morning we were super lucky with the weather, which was a really good sign for us, as in reality, the weather dictates going you to Milford Sound or not. And there are situations when to get there is simply impossible. New Zealand officials have declared a state of emergency as the biggest downpour on record is causing torrential rain and flooding with traffic chaos. To avoid such scenarios, the first step before embarking on the journey is to check the which provides real-time information on the road conditions. Thankfully, the roads were open and the only point of concern at that time was whether we needed snow chains on our car wheels for the final section of the road when the chains are often required in winter and without them you might be turned back. So it's always a good idea to ask locals. Which exactly we did at the gas station, where by the way, we found a screen displaying the Waka Katahi website and the option to rent wheel chains at a quite steep price. By the way, here is a travel tip for future tourists. If you are renting a car with slightly smaller wheels than ours, you can often find used chains on Facebook marketplace for around 20-30 bucks, which you can sell for the same price before flying back home. With the roads open and beautiful weather, we set off on our journey with a really good mood and high expectations. While we're on our way to Milford Sound, let me tell you a bit more about what it is and why it's so popular with tourists, although you'll see it producing yourselves. Milford Sound, or Piopiotahi as Maori call it, is one of the most popular and accessible fjords in New Zealand. It's a major attraction on the South Island and probably the whole of New Zealand. There are a total of 14 different fjords in Fiordland National Park, but only three of them are accessible. These are Doubtful Sound, Dusky Sound and Milford Sound. The other 11 fjords can typically only be accessed on foot through the mountains and forest, by water or by helicopter. By the way, as not native English speakers, we were not really familiar with the term sound, but turns out it's just an English name for a fjord. For a long time, visiting Milford Sound was a big challenge, especially by land, and could only be done on foot. However, in 1935, the New Zealand government allocated funds to build a tunnel that would provide easier access to the fjord, the very same tunnel that most people use today. Thanks for this development, nearly 1 million tourists visited the fjord annually in pre-COVID times. But now, let's get back to our journey to Milford Sound, as there are still many breathtaking views I would like to share. We've just entered Fiordland and it's already incredibly beautiful. Unfortunately, we are quite short on time, so there won't be many stops along the route, but this one, it's worth it for sure. After this point, a series of road signs begin to appear, indicating that drone flights are prohibited, so we follow the rules and from now on, all our shots will be from the ground. By the way, some of scenes of The Lord of the Rings were filmed somewhere in this area, although I can say this about almost the entire South Island. When we reach the final section of the road, at the traffic lights leading to the tunnel, we get surrounded by local mob, Kia parrots, which are known for their cheeky behavior and food extortion. It was quite clear that this was a standard procedure for them, as they seemed quite comfortable around our car. We arrived and parked at a parking lot with a really nice view, which, by the way, is the nearest free parking area to the cruise, and it will take us about 20 minutes to walk to the actual cruise, although we have roughly 45 minutes before the start, but we want to arrive a bit early, so we're picking up the pace. Sometimes, enjoying a freebie requires a little sacrifice, like this 20-minute walk, but it's a longer picturesque path, so it's definitely worth it. Of course, a visit to Milford Sound wouldn't be complete without taking a fjord cruise, which we obviously did. However, we were transferred to a smaller boat than originally planned, as the entire crew of our original boat was in COVID-19 self-isolation. In addition to the cruise, you can also explore Milford Sound by kayak or plane. Unfortunately, the weather forecast wasn't good for kayaking and a plane tour. Perhaps we will consider taking one next time. Milford Sound is known for being one of the wettest places on Earth, which results in numerous waterfalls of various sizes. The most famous ones are Stirling and Bowen Falls, which we will pass on our way back. And here is one of the many flying falls, which is not a name but a phenomenon when the water appears to hover due to a weak flow and strong wind. This combination of rocks and water is truly spectacular, with some rocks reaching heights of 700 meters and extending up to 500 meters underwater, creating a stunning backdrop for the fjord. In other words, the depth of this bay can reach 500 meters, allowing not only crews but large ships to easily navigate through. Milford Sound, along with the entire Fjordland, is a national park, and it's protected by the New Zealand government. As such, that's right, flying drones is prohibited here. And would not be a good idea anyway, given the high volume of air traffic in this area and the presence of a local airport. After reaching the Tasman Sea and turning back, the humid maritime climate made the experience a bit chilly and, as you can see, quite wet. Despite moving from a large boat to the smaller one, and the deck being crowded at the start of the cruise, very few dared to venture out in such weather. Yet, wet but smiling, we stayed at the deck to seize every second of these breathtaking views. And this is Stirling Falls. It might seem tiny against those massive rocks, but it stands tall at 151 meters or a 50-level building. One of entertainments during the cruise is to see water straight from the waterfall. Sadly, this option wasn't available for us as we switched to a smaller boat, but the option to get soaked under the waterfall was always on the table. As you can see, not many besides us were up to a waterfall plunge in this weather. While the fjord is known for its dolphins and penguins, our luck only brought us sea lions, those two hours just flew by. Sure, it was wet, cold, and a bit windy, but the memories are worth it. Especially when you're sailing right up to the waterfall. Yes, you get a splash of water and wind, but you can literally taste the waterfall. Milford Sound held on to us, urging us to stay until sunset, savoring those postcard-worthy fjord views. And just like that, out of the blue, we caught sight of Bowen Falls from a different angle and started making millions of photos and videos from every side. Looking at these scenes, it's becoming quite clear why our phone storage is always maxed out. So, on the way back to the car, at twilight, we spotted one of Vecca birds, which we initially mistook for the kiwi, the symbol of New Zealand. But apparently, not this time. We're finally back at the parking spot and it's already quite dark, to be honest, but still just as beautiful. Nothing changed, still just as beautiful. I thought for a while about what the mountain reminded me of and it just struck me now. It looks like a MacBook desktop screensaver, especially from that angle. As the darkness began to fall, we headed to a small motel, or you can call it a campground, which was in the woods along the Milford road, where we would spend the night before continuing our fjordland trip tomorrow. This is the cabin where we stayed and these are fantastically beautiful morning views, which now will certainly stay in our memories for a very long time. Here, in addition to cabins, there is an option to pitch your tent. However, looking at the layer of frost on the grass and trees and a little snow from last night, I think it's best to leave this option for the summer. Although, to be honest, we already missed the snow a little, so today our plan is to hike higher up the mountain to one of the peaks accessible for hiking. But before that, we need to spend some time at a couple of traffic lights. There are pit stops every 300-400 meters here near this lake, allowing people to stop and enjoy this simply gorgeous view. And it's also quite cold here. While we were standing by the lake, taking photos of the mountains, we missed our green light, so now we're just sitting and waiting for the next one. We parked in one of the parking lots on the way from our last accommodation to Milford Sound, a place called The Divide. A couple of tracks start from here, which we will both attempt to tackle today. One leading to Key Summit and another one to Merion Lookout. So, let's get started. This place is very popular, as it marks the beginning of the Rubeberg track, one of New Zealand's famous Great Walks. The track takes you through Fiordland and Mount Aspiring National Parks, all the way into Paradise. Yes, you've heard that right, Paradise. That is the name of the place on the other end of the track, which we will visit later on from Queenstown. In fact, this track would be the shortest way to Queenstown if there was a road for cars. At the moment, the shortest route to the city is almost 300 kilometers by huge detour through Teano, but from here it's only 25 kilometers to the nearest highway on the other side of the mountain, and from there it's just 75 kilometers by car and you're in Queenstown. So, it turns out that this route could be almost three times shorter. So, our plan is to hike a portion of the Rubeberg track to capture a panoramic view of the snow-capped mountains surrounding us. Wow, that's a small waterfall right in the middle of the road. It says we must continue without stopping, so we will go as recommended. However, it turns out the no-stopping area was just up to this sign take a break because there is almost a 360-degree view of the mountains. As we ascend, the view of the mountains becomes more picturesque. Just look at this. I'm really looking forward to what we'll and it's almost a complete panoramic view with just one exception over there. I hope there will be a point with a complete 360 view. For me personally, this was already an incredible adventure among the snow-capped mountains, as it was my first such experience. While these may not have been super high mountains, being surrounded by mountains on all sides was breathtaking. Added to this, during the entire ascent we met only a couple of people, so there was a strong feeling that we were in the wilderness. Some views and places where you can get a 360 panorama of the surrounding mountains are so captivating that you can get bored of spending an hour or even several hours there, you only want to stay longer. To justify our extended stop, we decided to have a snack right on the one of the rocks facing the frozen mini lake. Even after that, we continued to walk and film around the lake for quite some time. Watching this video now, it brings back very so we had to keep moving, covering the last few meters to see the promised postcard view of Lake Merion. We ended up spending more time than expected at the last lookout, about an hour, maybe a little bit more, however, the sign we just passed said that it's about a 5-minute walk to the last point of Merion lookout, so we are getting there, taking photos and heading back right after that, as the sun is beginning to set and there is a few hours drive to Queenstown, where by the way we're staying for the night. When I said a few hours, I meant almost 300 kilometers and about three and a half hours drive. And here we are, the last few meters before reaching this much anticipated lookout, or at least that's what I thought. That moment when it's super windy and cold, so you put on all your extra layers to continue walking and finally see the lake, but there is no lake there. The lake is actually over there, on the horizon. It turned out to be a bit of disappointment, as there was not much of a lake view from there. This certainly wasn't the primary goal of our walk, rather we were aiming for a panoramic view of the snowy mountains. Nevertheless, this was a good lesson for us for the future. We need to better read the details of the lookouts we plan to visit. I must say it's actually quite sad to be heading back now, because the sunlight is just perfect and it's the ideal lighting to capture the mountains from this side. However, I can see that just maybe in 20 minutes it will start getting much much darker, as the sun sets behind that mountain. And we still have to make our way to the parking lot and then drive for a few hours to reach Queenstown. And if we don't head off now, we will be driving in complete darkness. So let's go back to the parking. This marks the end of the first part of our trip to New Zealand, and I think we tick Milford Sound off our list. When asked whether it was worth spending full four days here or it could be done with just a day trip and a cruise, our answer is a resounding yes. We would even be prepared to spend more time here, as besides these popular locations, there are numerous other places, the beauty of which is almost unbelievable. And we are certain that we will return here, which I believe conclusively answers the question whether it was worth it or not.