There were two options to get to Milford from Queenstown and back: take a tour or drive there on your own. The tour would appear the simpler choice as driving to and fro would take a good 10 hours! But the cost would set us back more than 200 NZD per person! So after some weighing of economies and because my bro's friend claimed it was quite an easy drive, we decided on the latter.
Our day started at 6 am, when it was still pitch black and the roads covered with a film of ice. Eacck scary road conditions to drive in. Expectedly, we got lost for about 15 minutes (we factored time in for this) before we approached someone at a petrol kiosk who set us on our way.
When we eventually hit the highway, we realized that the drive would be anything but easy. The roads made sharp turns around the mountains and were not lit at all. Had to rely on only the headlights of the car. Before long, we noticed that there were 3 cars tailgating us but the road didn't have an overtaking lane, just one lane for traffic in each direction. We felt very bad holding up the others so my bro increased his speed to the highest he could deal with but it was still too slow for them and they continued pressuring us (although they graciously didn't horn). Finally, my bro just drifted the car slightly to the left to allow them to pass and all three did, by cutting into the lane for oncoming traffic despite the yellow line drawn on the road.
3 seconds later, a siren erupted out of no where and a police car with its lights flashing chased after the three cars at breakneck speed. We were shell-shocked! I mean it was so sudden and at 6 plus in the morning, who'd expect this!
Little did we foresee that the policecar would be waiting for us a few km from where the incident happened. The burly policeman flagged us down and asked for our IDs and car rental papers. We didn't realize we had gotten into trouble until he started reprimanding us in a very curt and snide manner about our 'inconsiderate driving that caused others to do silly things that could've resulted in an accident'. Of course, we tried to explain that we didn't dare go fast cos of the road conditions and cos we were unfamiliar with the roads, which he then rebutted with '90% of these people have never been to Milford either but they weren't as inconsiderate'. Gosh, what a slap in the face man! He said he'd been observing us for awhile and noted that we didn't turn into any of the rest stops along the way so the others could pass but those rest stops weren't clearly demarcated, as in there wasn't any path leading into them and they looked like bushes at the edge of the cliffs so we didn't dare turn in lest we plunge down. Argh, and we got ourselves another fine, this time 150 NZD and a lot of distress. The day had barely started!
Even the policeman said that the drive to Milford is one of the most treacherous routes in NZ. But the one thing we learnt from him was that for one lane roads, to let others overtake, you should signal left and move as much as you can to the side but only on straight roads (so you can see oncoming traffic).
After that, my bro wanted to turn back cos he felt we'd be compromising on safety if we were to continue our 4h journey at such a high speed on these mountain roads. But in the end, we decided to just complete what we started. The stress eased considerably as the sun rose and provided us with more light and heat that thawed the ice on the roads.
Now for some of the gorgeous landscape that helped evaporate the morning's tension!
left: sunrise in the horizons
right: one of the many sheep-dotting-hill scenes we saw
left: a public toilet in the wilderness, which was basically a hole in the ground. It's not a pretty sight if you do catch a glimpse of what's below but interestingly, there wasn't any odour! Speaking of the toilets in NZ, they've got to be the best upkept ones I've seen probably due to low population density.
right: plants covered in a layer of frost cos the temperatures dipped quite drastically as we descended the South Island.
above: fields of plants coated in white and low-lying clouds encircling the mountains
above: one of the many abrupt turns along the way.
Other than that, we passed by countless creeks and rivers, a few rushed, others trickled and some were all but dried up. Yet each was given a name which was displayed on a small yellow sign beside it. Monkey Creek was a crystal clear creek with rounded pebbles on its sides and bed. No sign of monkeys anywhere near though =D.
left: Mitre Peak Cruises, the company we selected for the Milford Sound Cruise. A ticket with them costs 68 NZD per person for a 2h cruise. There're about 5 cruise companies at the terminal so take your pick!
left: this lake not far from the cruise centre was so still it was literally a mirror.
right: cruising through the Sound.
right: enjoying the tomato soup (with added ingredients haha!) on board
left: Gohs with grins
right: All drenched as the captain of the boat sailed it really close to one of the waterfalls hoho.
left: Jack and Rose? Haha
left: lovely rainbow formed from the waterfall's droplets.
right: The Homer Tunnel, a one way tunnel leading to and from Milford. If you're really down on your luck, you could be left waiting for 15 minutes for the lights to change in your favour.
right: the long journey took a toll on us, especially our stomachs, which we promptly fed with dabao-ed fish and chips and burgers from the town centre.
Undeniably, the fiords were a sight to behold but after awhile, the scenery seemed to repeat itself. According to the captain, rainy days would be the best time to visit the Sound cos there'd be many more streams of water rushing down holes in the cliffs. The day we went however, the sun was out in full force and we were at times blinded by the glare. I think we didn't even get to see Mitre Peak, the highlight of the tour because of that or because we couldn't decipher the captain's very thick accent. Haha.
Anyway I've gotta say kudos to the bro man, it must have been incredibly challenging and trying driving on those roads and maintaining a constant concentration level especially cos in Singapore journeys rarely exceed an hour.
To sum it up, Milford Sound didn't quite live up to my expectations, which probably isn't fair cos I would have been more impressed if the guidebooks didn't make it out to be some sort of paradise on earth. Still, I thought it wasn't worth the travel time and a better idea would be to stay at one of the B&Bs near Milford for a night so there won't be a need to rush to avoid driving in the dark, especially when the days are short!
Other than that, we passed by countless creeks and rivers, a few rushed, others trickled and some were all but dried up. Yet each was given a name which was displayed on a small yellow sign beside it. Monkey Creek was a crystal clear creek with rounded pebbles on its sides and bed. No sign of monkeys anywhere near though =D.
left: Mitre Peak Cruises, the company we selected for the Milford Sound Cruise. A ticket with them costs 68 NZD per person for a 2h cruise. There're about 5 cruise companies at the terminal so take your pick!
left: this lake not far from the cruise centre was so still it was literally a mirror.
right: cruising through the Sound.
right: enjoying the tomato soup (with added ingredients haha!) on board
left: Gohs with grins
right: All drenched as the captain of the boat sailed it really close to one of the waterfalls hoho.
left: Jack and Rose? Haha
right: The Homer Tunnel, a one way tunnel leading to and from Milford. If you're really down on your luck, you could be left waiting for 15 minutes for the lights to change in your favour.
right: the long journey took a toll on us, especially our stomachs, which we promptly fed with dabao-ed fish and chips and burgers from the town centre.
Undeniably, the fiords were a sight to behold but after awhile, the scenery seemed to repeat itself. According to the captain, rainy days would be the best time to visit the Sound cos there'd be many more streams of water rushing down holes in the cliffs. The day we went however, the sun was out in full force and we were at times blinded by the glare. I think we didn't even get to see Mitre Peak, the highlight of the tour because of that or because we couldn't decipher the captain's very thick accent. Haha.
Anyway I've gotta say kudos to the bro man, it must have been incredibly challenging and trying driving on those roads and maintaining a constant concentration level especially cos in Singapore journeys rarely exceed an hour.
To sum it up, Milford Sound didn't quite live up to my expectations, which probably isn't fair cos I would have been more impressed if the guidebooks didn't make it out to be some sort of paradise on earth. Still, I thought it wasn't worth the travel time and a better idea would be to stay at one of the B&Bs near Milford for a night so there won't be a need to rush to avoid driving in the dark, especially when the days are short!
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