We could actually book our tour with the hostel and some may even have discount.
Like our travel period which was not so peak, day tour could be purchased from the hostel.
If non peak period,
Day tour can be booked over counter
Intercity bus, we could book with I site when we reached.
Hostel, YHA hostel is better to book beforehand cos there was one japanese could not get a room.
Anyway, we had all booked before we went to NZ. Advantage, we did not have to worry cos they had our records and they are quite efficient. For example, as Singaporean, we would print black and white to proof that we had made a booking but actually, they did have our records and did not even see our paper. But I still believe to bring along just in case.
But disadvantage of pre-booking was, if our trip was cancelled?postponed?or we could not make it to the place on the day we booked?hmm.......
Ok, back to Milford Sound, we were picked up from hostel around 6.45am.
It was a whole day trip. These were the places we visited. I was not sure which photo belong to which place =(
↓ Lake Manapouri
Te Anau Downs
Te Anau Downs is 30 km (18miles) north of the Te Anau township on State Highway 94 and is the departure point by boat for the world famous Milford TrackEglinton Valley
This Beautiful valley is a 40 minutes drive north of Te Anau. The Eglinton valley is glaciated with steep sides and a flat floor. It's between 0.5km (0.3miles) to 2km (1.2miles) wide and has a single riverbed floor, which is constantly being changed by the Eglinton River.
Mirror Lakes
A beautiful stroll down the wooden boardwalk, these small lakes provide outstanding reflective views of the Earl Mountains. Native ducks and wetland plants can be seen against a backdrop of native beech forest. Be sure to check out the "Mirror Lakes" upside down sign on the far side of the lake!
Monkey Creek(Lyttles Flat)
Provides great views of the upper Hollyford Valley including Mt Crosscut with a ridge shaped like a "crosscut saw". Also looking towards the top end of the valley is the spectacular Mt Talbot popular mountain climbers. Have a drink fo the water of eternal youth from the pristline stream!
↓ Driver told us that he was actually 70 plus but he looked like 50-60? Chong also want to have eternal youth. Some even brought bottle!
Homer Tunnel
Work started in 1935 with picks, shovels and wheel barrows. It opened to allow traffic through Milford Sound in 1954. The entrance is 945m (3100ft) above sea level and it's length is 1270m (0.7miles) long. In the winter months there is no stopping around the tunnel and no traffic lights operating.
The Chasm
From two footbridges over the Cleddau River, you get to look down a series of water falls and mostly strangely shaped rocks and potholes resulting from thousands of years of swirling water that have sculpted round shaped basins in the rock. 20 min return
Then we took the Milford Sound cruise...I will just dump all the not sure where photos here.
It was quite long on boat. Initially, we stand at the front onboard, however, the wind blew and we felt so cold! We could not stand it any longer and we went indoor to have coffee. Well, we missed the waterfall =(
↓ Though we missed the waterfall but we were able to spot the seal on the stone!
The journey back was long cos the bus no longer stop for scenary...
Reached back hostel around 7plus.
Milford Sound tour (SGD154.45)
http://milfordsoundselect.com/about/the-coach
