Milford Sound: The Final Excursion

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Morning in Kingston – Coffee Mishap & a Chat with the Owner

Before truly heading out, and about 10 minutes from the campsite, we stopped at The Bomb Coffee Shop in Kingston for breakfast and coffee. I made the mistake of not realizing that milk and sugar cost extra, so I ended up with a black coffee, which normally I don’t mind (and drink often), but this one was particularly bitter. Sarah’s mocaccino wasn’t much better, as it was more coffee than chocolate.

To top off the mistakes, I also grabbed the mocaccino to give to Sarah once it had been prepared and let it slip out of my hand and ALL over the front of the little popup stall where the owner was. OOPS!! They were so nice and replaced it free of charge while I helped clean up the mess.

While we sipped our slightly disappointing drinks, we had a great chat with the owner, who had been to Canada once before. She said she loved it but found the prairies incredibly boring—she couldn’t understand why people would take pictures of “nothing.” I had to laugh because, from her perspective, our endless fields must have been the complete opposite of New Zealand’s dramatic landscapes!

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The Drive to Te Anau – A Surprising Change in Scenery

The 1.5-hour drive from Kingston to Te Anau started off… well, pretty bland. The landscape felt almost badlands-like, dry, empty, and nothing special. Then, about 20 minutes from Te Anau, everything changed.

Suddenly, we were in Fiordland National Park, surrounded by towering mountains, deep valleys, and lush greenery. It was like stepping into another world, YET AGAIN! (many “other worlds” on this trip!). This place had some of the most breathtaking scenery we’d seen yet, and that’s saying a lot!

Once in Te Anau, we parked on the road in the charming little town and made our way to the pickup zone for our final excursion: Milford Sound.

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Milford Sound – The Tour That Kept Changing

Getting to Milford Sound was a bit of a headache at first—our pickup location and time changed three times, which was frustrating. But once we were finally on the tour bus, things got much better.

The 3-hour drive to the port was filled with fascinating stories from our tour guide, who covered:

• The difference between a fjord and a sound (turns out Milford Sound is actually a fjord, but it was misnamed ages ago and they just never bothered to fix it).
• Movies filmed in the area (including some Lord of the Rings locations as well as X-Men Origins: Wolverine among others).
• The unique wildlife and geology of the region.

Even though I was an experienced New Zealand driver by this point, I was incredibly grateful to be on a tour bus this time around. Not only were the roads extremely winding with steep drop-offs, but being a passenger finally gave me a chance to fully take in the scenery instead of keeping my eyes glued to the road.

At one point, I even saw a Jucy van (the exact same model as ours!) that had gone completely off the road and into a tree! There it was, suspended in midair! Just ten feet further back, and it would have gone off the cliff entirely, straight down at least 100 feet to the bottom.

Knowing how Sarah already had trouble with these winding roads, I made sure to NOT tell her what I had seen until we were safely back in Te Anau. I honestly have no idea how they’d even clear it out since the road is incredibly narrow and the only way in or out. The entire road would probably have to be shut down for hours just to get a tow truck in there.

The scenery along the way was jaw-dropping, massive cliffs, waterfalls, and deep valleys unlike anything we’d seen before.

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Cruising Through the Fjord

Once at the port, we boarded a 2-hour ferry that took us deep into Milford Sound (Fjord).

We saw:

• Towering waterfalls cascading down sheer cliffs
• Seals sunbathing on the rocks
• Majestic landscapes that looked straight out of a fantasy movie
• Crystal-clear water stretching out beneath us

It was peaceful, breathtaking, and 100% worth it.

We had lunch on the boat, soaking in the views as we sailed through this incredible natural wonder. The ship kissed one of the waterfalls allowing us to feel the mist and local Maori legends stated that this waterfall in particular was said to make you feel 10 years younger if you touched its waters…That didn’t happen for us but it was fun to imagine haha!

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Back to Te Anau – Souvenirs & a Relaxing Night

The return bus ride to Te Anau was a bit shorter (2.25 hours instead of 3), and once back in town, we stopped at a gift shop to grab a few souvenirs before heading to our campground for the night.

The campground was just as beautiful as everything else in Fiordland—right on the shores of a majestic lake, with mountains in the background.

While cooking and eating at the public BBQ zone, I ended up chatting with an older gentleman from Australia for a good hour. He was an extremely nice guy (as was everyone we met along the way) and was very interested in Canada, having been there once a very long time ago. We got to talking about all sorts of things, and I even told him about how the company I work for has an office in Canberra, which he found fascinating. It was an excellent conversation, and it’s always great to meet people from around the world.

We ended the night with a relaxing barbecue meal, playing some games, and watching a movie (“In Time” with Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried) before winding down. Tomorrow was a much-needed lazy morning!

As always, you only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. Embrace the adventure, cherish the memories, and I’ll catch you tomorrow for day 14.

#NewZealandAdventure #LordOfTheRings #DreamTrip #Travel #40thBirthday #MiddleEarth #BucketList #AdventureAwaits

-Rob ❤️