Milford sound cruise NZ
Replies: 9 - Last Post: Nov 11, 2012 7:25 PM Last Post By: Harry_Ramsden
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Milford sound cruise NZ
Hi all,We're traveling to NZ and would like to get advises or whether or not we ahould do the Mildord sound scenic day cruise. We just want to know if its worth spending nearly $200 as we're tavelling w 2 kids. Could we see the same from land or its something ww definitely should do? Would appreciate any comments, thanks
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One of the highlights of our visit to the South island was the cruise on Milford Sound, the place is so pristine and has a great back to nature feel to it.I did not see any road you could use to see Dolphins, Seals and the wildlife you would see on a cruise, so i would suggest you go for it, as it was very special to us......................10 out of 10 from our family.
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Definitely worth it. The last hour of the drive there is sensational, so take time to stop and walk to the roadside waterfalls, check out the views etc. And it's true there are great views from the car park (see my pic below of Mitre Peak) BUT from the boat you get the full range of the waterfalls, seals, sheer walls, mountains etc. We did thre 10.15 Nature Encounter tour with this mob http://www.southerndiscoveries.co.nz/milford-sound/encounter-nature-small-boat-cruise and loved it.If finances and time permits I also highly recommend the glow worm caves tour from Te Anau. This was so much better than we expected.
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BTW it isn't always necessary to book the cruise ahead, especially if you do the morning or late afternoon ones;; only the big boat midday ones sell out and they are not as good anyway.if there is flexibility in your itinerary this gives you a chance of picking a good day. I know they say that rain makes for great waterfalls, which it does, but if there is low cloud you won't see as much. rains 2 days in 3 at Milford...
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all the cruises see the sound, and all are fine for kids - you don't get off the boat unless you visit Milford Deep, which is also good.full itineraries and maps are on the company websites. Get a cruise that lasts as long as possible, and take food, you don't want to be inside queuing for a meal when you should be outside saying 'wow'.
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"Encounter nature cruise" was, in our experience, little different from "cruise". The only difference was it was a little longer, and diverted via a rock platform with seals on it. We got close to the seals, but they were the only animals we encountered in the cruise.I agree there's no need to book if you do the early cruise. There were aboiut a dozen people on our boat, and this was in January.
