Milford Sound (It's Actually a Fjord)

We had to get up early to visit Milford Sound! I think we were all excited because we were going to see one of New Zealand’s proudest landmarks. Not many people we know can say they have been to Milford Sound! Anyway, we were excited (and a little sleepy) and ready to go at 7:15 am. Now, I have a bit of an explanation. Milford Sound was misnamed. Milford Sound is actually a fjord, because it was carved by a glacier, while sounds are carved by rivers. However, they did not change the name because it would be a huge confusion for every travel agent ever, as well as the fact that every other sound/fjord was also misnamed! Okay, now that you know that, I can tell the story.

Queenstown and the rest of the South Island is chock full of huge tour buses with names like, “Oceania,” or “KiwiExperience.” We decided we didn’t want to spend 8 hours of time on a bus with 60 million other people. We booked a small group tour called “The Milford Sound BBQ Bus.” We tried it mostly because it had great ratings on Trip Advisor. We climbed on board for a 4-hour journey there and a 4-hour journey back. We had a group of twelve people, two from Canada, two from Minnesota, one from Denmark, and two others (we didn’t really talk to them much so we have no clue where they are from).

We took a number of picture stops along the way to Milford Sound/Fjord. Just before lunch we went to a creek. Our guide said that the creek was so pure you could drink it! So we did, and it tasted really good! It was better than any tap water I have ever had. For lunch, we stopped and had sausage and pasta salad and coleslaw. It was yummy! Then we got back on the bus and drove to Milford Sound/Fjord. Once there, we hopped on a boat and sailed through the windy wet sound/fjord. We got some good pictures and lots of amazing views.

While on the boat, we saw mountains that went straight into the water! The rocks were almost vertical and still has grass and bushes growing on them. We also saw some fur seals! They were hanging out on a large rock in the sun. We also drove right underneath a waterfall… we got soaked! It seemed like we spent an entire day on the boat when we eventually got off, but it also felt like we had just boarded. Milford Sound/Fjord is completely amazing and is a very beautiful place. We took so many pictures and we must go back!

(PS, I think that fjord is my new favorite word.)