Te Anau

10.00am Coach pick-up from Southern Discoveries Visitor Centre (80 Lakefront Drive Te Anau) • Travel on a premium glass-roof coach, equipped with reclining seats, extra legroom, air-conditioning • USB charging ports and onboard toilet • Experienced, local coach drivers provide engaging and informative commentary, and show you the best short walks and photo stops along the Milford Road • Coach connects with our Milford Sound Nature Cruise 1 hour 45min cruise of Milford Sound • Skipper provides entertaining and informative commentary • Freshly Packed Picnic Lunch is included if purchased • FREE tea and coffee

20 minutes

Te Anau

Te Anau is a beautiful town on the South Island of New Zealand. It’s known as a gateway to Fiordland National Park and Milford Sound. The region is home to endangered, flightless takahē birds and abundant trout in Lake Te Anau. Here is where your day trip will start from, you can meet us at the Southern Discoveries Visitor Centre on 80 Lakefront Drive at 9:45am.

20 minutes

Mirror Lakes Walk

Enjoy a stroll among small lakes with stunning reflections of the Earl Mountains, should weather be permissive on the day. This is an easy, short walk off the Milford Road.

15 minutes

N/A

Interpretation panels show the effect of avalanches on the Milford Road and provide information on the wildlife of the Eglinton Valley. Visitor amenities include toilets and a telephone (card payment only).

10 minutes

Monkey Creek

Take in great views of the upper Hollyford Valley while you fill up your water bottle from this glacier fed spring. Friendly Keas (a New Zealand alpine parrot) love this area so it's a great stop for some kea spotting.

10 minutes

Eglinton Valley

This beautiful valley is glaciated with steep sides and a flat floor. It's between half a kilometre to two kilometres wide and has a shingle riverbed floor, which is constantly being changed by the Eglinton River. This is an incredible stop you will make as apart of your journey to Milford Sound with Southern Discoveries.

10 minutes

Lake Gunn (Pass By)

Lake Gunn is a strikingly beautiful lake in the South Island of New Zealand.

Homer Tunnel (Pass By)

At an altitude of 945 metres above sea level and 1.2 kilometres in length, the unlined road tunnel allows access through sheer rock to Milford Sound with a gradient of 1 in 10. Completed in 1953, traffic lights control the traffic flow through the tunnel. An incredible part of your journey along the Milford Road.

N/A (Pass By)

The Cleddau River is a beautiful river of New Zealand. It flows into the head of Milford Sound. You'll see many parts of this river as you journey along the Milford Sound road.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound is a fiord in the southwest of New Zealand’s South Island. It’s known for towering Mitre Peak, plus rainforests and waterfalls like Stirling and Bowen falls, which plummet down its sheer sides. The fiord is home to fur seal colonies, penguins and dolphins. Milford Discovery Centre and Underwater Observatory offers views of rare black coral and other marine life. Southern Discoveries cruises are a popular way to explore.

2 hours 10 minutes

N/A (Pass By)

Exchange your pass and board your Nature cruise. Your journey on the water starts here!

Bowen Falls (Pass By)

The stunning Lady Bowen Falls is Milford’s highest waterfall. It plunges 162m from a hanging valley into the head of Milford Sound and provides electricity for the Milford Sound township by feeding a small hydroelectric scheme, as well as being the water source for the settlement.

N/A (Pass By)

Nestled behind the world famous Mitre Peak, the Sinbad Gully is characterised by extremely steep glacially carved walls punctuated by near vertical granite cliffs. These walls slowed pest invasion into the gully and as a result a number of unique native species remain in the Sinbad. Southern Discoveries is passionate about preserving Milford Sound’s beauty for future generations which is why it’s a key partner in a major conservation project – the Sinbad Sanctuary Project. The aim is to see the valley of New Zealand’s most photographed mountain (Sinbad Gully is at the base of Mitre Peak) become a sanctuary for native species.

Stirling Falls (Pass By)

Milford’s second-highest waterfall is the Stirling Falls, a staggering 151m in height – three times the height of Niagara Falls, but the 1,300m mountain behind displaces this incredible height. This is the famous waterfall that Hugh Jackman ‘jumped off’ in the movie Wolverine. The sheer drop of the Stirling Falls allows boats to get right underneath – it’s an incredible feeling to have the power of 151m worth of glacial water falling so close to you.

N/A (Pass By)

Mitre Peak is a beautifully dramatic mountain in the South Island of New Zealand, located on the shore of Milford Sound. It is one of the most photographed mountain peaks in the entire country.