The second half of fall break in New Zealand my dad and I continued south on the South Island toward Mildford sound. Milford sound was unlike anything else I have ever seen. The drive through Firodland National parK to reach Milford Sound was stunning. Visiting Fiordland is a must when going to the south island. There is only one road and many awesome things to stop and see along the way. The first thing we did was hike to Key Sunmit which was an awesome morning hike that had a beautiful view of the national park at the top. This was a fairly easy hike but the summit was very windy the first half of the hike was part of the great walk Routeburn which I was lucky enough to get to go back and hike a month or some later this semester and a post will be up shortly about my experience!
We hiked to key summit first, then to an amazing water fall and finally to a really cool chasm. Finally we reached Milfordsound where we took a boat cruise through it. Fun fact: Mildford Sound is not actually a sound but a Fiord which is extremely mis leading because of the name but still worth knowing the difference!
~Key Summit
Before reaching Milford Sound we saw a chasm.mthe doth and sound of the rushing water was amazing.
Milford sound was amazing the way the water meets the beautiful fiords is amazing. We took a boat cruise that was absolutely worth doing the cruise was a short hour boat right through the sound and put to the ocean which left me speechless. We went towards the later end of the afternoon which was a good call because it wasn’t as hot and we got to see the sun setting on the water. Absolutely a highlight to my New Zealand experience.
One of the unique things about Milford sound is that there is a famous great walking hiking track right through Milford sound but because of how amazingly beautiful this hike is supposed to be its the most popular hike in New Zealand and generally people who want to do the hike have to book it over a year and half in advance! Makes me wonder what all the hype is about., Hopefully someday I’ll be back doing this hike 🙂
We ended the week going along the Catlin’s back up to Dunedin in the east coast. The Catlin’s reminded me a lot of the Oregon coast with really pretty ocean views and rockie drop offs. It is part of the south scenic route of New Zealand where there are stops with places to see along the way.
The first place we stopped at what this beach that continued for miles
Nugget point!
The Catlins has amazing rainforest views as well. This was an amazing waterfall we stopped to see.
Fall break ended so quickly but it was definitely the best way I would have spent my ten days off from school. It’s amazing how much there is to see in New Zealand and how difficult it can be to do everything but with good planning and navigation it’s doable to see a lot! I couldn’t have asked forms better ten days. From quality bonding with my dad to amazing dinners and great conversations 24/7 it’ll be a ten days I won’t forget.
Claudia Across The World 