Towards the end of our trip, we finally made our way over to Milford Sound, my must see place for this trip. We drove from Invercargill and opted to stay 2 nights in Te Anau, the gateway to the Fiordland Nat’l Park, because there were more restaurants and accommodations. Te Anau is about 2 hours from Milford Sound, but will likely take you longer due to traffic and the many gorgeous stops along the way.

Despite its name, Milford Sound is actually a fiord since it was carved out by the erosion of glacial ice, not by a flooded river valley. Early European settlers miss named this after discovering it back in the 1800’s, however the Māori people are believed to be the first to discover Milford Sound. They believed it to be a sacred place blessed with food and pounamu, also known as New Zealand jade.

We booked a cruise with the Cruise Milford company and chose them because they offered a small boat experience and purposely don’t pack their boats to capacity. This allowed us to walk around without feeling too cramped and the ability to get up closer to the waterfalls.

There are several other boat companies and tours to choose from, but no matter what cruise you decide on, you can’t go wrong as they nearly all follow the same route.

It is said that the best experience in Milford Sound is on a rainy day when hundreds of waterfalls can be seen. This is the wettest place in New Zealand, averaging 182 rainy days a year. We unfortunately, or fortunately, missed the rain by a day, and had to settle for a gorgeous sunny day in Milford Sound (I know, cue the violins). Despite the sun and calm weather, we managed to see many waterfalls, the peaks of the mountains, crested penguins, fur seals and breathtaking views in every direction. This place definitely lived up to everything I had hoped it would be and felt very peaceful and magical.

Of course photos will never fully capture the experience of actually seeing it in person, but here are a few to peak your interest and maybe add this to your bucket list.

After our cruise and time in Milford Sound, we ended this Thanksgiving Day with a traditional American-style meal of pizza and beer.

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