RTW Trip Day #80: An Unforgettable Milford Sound Cruise

17 December 2025

Steps: 11,523

This morning we got up nice and early to drive from Te Anau to Milford sound, for our boat cruise through the fjord.

Fun fact: Milford Sound is actually a fjord, not a sound, as it was created by erosion by a glacier, not a river

We drove straight to Milford Sound without stopping, and managed to get one of the last free parking spots, but that meant a 20 minute walk to the terminal, which added a bit of unnecessary stress!

We probably should have got up earlier, but we tend to air on the side of ‘more sleep’ whenever we can!

Milford Sound Cruise

We got to the terminal with 10 minutes to spare and boarded our boat, the Cruise Milford. It’s a medium sized boat which we think was the perfect size; not too big with 200 people on it, but not really small that comes with a much higher cost.

The cruise was absolutely fantastic! The scenery towers all around you, with tons of greenery, snow topped peaks and waterfalls that plunge into the sound.

The most famous peak is Mitre Peak, which is presumably named after its shape, as it points into the sky.

Just before we reached the section of the cruise where the fjord meet the open sea, we came across a group of bottlenose dolphins! It was amazing to watch them swimming and they came right up to our boat to investigate further!

Apparently the chances of seeing dolphins on these tours are about 1 in every 4 cruises, so we got pretty lucky!

Dolphins weren’t the only wildlife we came across though - we also saw some New Zealand fur seals chilling on some rocks as we sailed past.

The final part of the cruise was the Stirling Falls (Wai Manu), which is the famous spot where the boat goes right up to the falls and everyone on deck gets absolutely socked by the spray!

Milford Sound to Te Anau Drive

On the drive back, we stopped off at the Chasm, which as the name suggests is a chasm in the river where the water gushed through between the rocks.

Unfortunately, the bridge loop path is closed after a flood back in 2022, so you don’t get the best view of the falls, but you can certainly hear it.

The information board mentioned that work was due to commence in 2024, so it looks like they are a bit behind! The walk though the forest is still pretty interesting with all the trees covered in moss.

Further up the road, we had to wait for 8 minutes for the traffic signal to turn green so we could pass through Homer tunnel. It wasn’t a hardship though as the views were pretty good to say the least.

For lunch we had a picnic at a lovely spot near Lake Gunn. We didn’t actually walk to the lake, instead we just ate by the river as there were some gorgeous lupins blanketing the river bank which made for some great photos.

Our final stop along the route was Mirror lakes. It’s just a quick stop where you can stretch your legs along the short 5 minute boardwalk down to a lake. On a calm day the lake has a lovely mirror reflection of the mountains behind it.

Once back in Queenstown we managed to quickly check in to our hotel, the Crown Plaza, before going to the airport to pick up Granny, who is travelling around New Zealand with us. The girls were so excited, with big hugs all around!!

Previous Day #79: The Drive to Te Anau

Next Day #81: Lake Wanaka and the Mount Iron Track

Read About Our Itinerary here