South Island NZ: Milford Sound to Wanaka

I’ve covered the first part of our South Island New Zealand journey here. Up next picks up right where we left off at Milford Sound!

Day 7: Milford Sound (with VIP Milford)

Before I tell you all about our wonderful day in Milford Sound, it’s best to tell you the means by which we got there. First, we had some qualifications. We knew we wanted to be on a small tour less than 18 people. We also knew we wanted to leave by 8am at the latest so we could avoid the Queenstown hoards that would be driving through Te Anua on their way to Milford around 10:30am. The tours from Te Anua typically run about $140 USD and some didn’t even meet the aforementioned requirements. This is where BookMe comes in. It’s a wonderful website in NZ that provides discounted tickets to various activities and tours. Basically if they have a low number of participants for something on a particular day/time then they’ll offer reduced fare tickets for that option. I took a look at this and miraculously found VIP Milford. It was $65 USD, had less than 18 people (10 to be precise), and left at 8am sharp. It couldn’t have been better.

We were picked up from our hotel by our friendly and informative driver. The drive to Milford took about 2.5 hours, but we had several stops on the way. These included Mirror Lakes, Homer Tunnel, and The Chasm.

Once we got to Milford Sound our driver grabbed our tickets for our Real Journeys cruise. It included a buffet lunch and a 2 hour cruise around the sound. Oh and two of the people on our tour got engaged under the waterfall! We saw seals and got wet and windswept on the upper deck as we journeyed along the water. It was really enjoyable and even more so since it had rained earlier and the waterfalls were at full force.

On the way back to Te Anua we had several more stops, although the names have escaped me. Our trip with VIP Milford was absolutely incredible, one of the best tours I’ve been on. We weren’t rushed and really got to enjoy the beauty of the drive and the sound. We were so thankful we were on a small tour that left early!

Once back at our hotel we decided to get our legs moving on a hike. We drove over to the Rainbow Ridge car park and walked in the direction of Moturau Hut. While we may not have made it all the way to the hut, we did make it to a lookout and then did a swift turn back to the car. It was quiet and full of greenery.

Night: Kingsgate Hotel Te Anua (great location but not the best facilities)

Day 8: Queenstown
Drive: 2 hours 20 minutes

With the infamous city of Queenstown awaiting us, we decided to hit the road early and get going. Our first day there was fairly uneventful. We spent it grabbing Vietnamese food in the town center and walking around the various shops. The weather wasn’t great and we weren’t keen on walking around in the rain.

Night 8 and 9: Lomond Lodge (quite convenient and spacious)
Day 9: Queenstown

Breakfast was first on the agenda and then we were ready for some adventuring. BookMe came in handy again and we were scheduled for a 1pm kayak rental with Paddle Queenstown. They sent over an email in the morning saying we could come earlier because of forecasted wind later in the day. So, we spent the late morning on kayaks enjoying the views.

Next up was the infamous Fergburger. We opted for the regular Fergburger, onion rings and fries. It was really quite good considering the hype (long line). Luckily we eat at odd times so it wasn’t as crowded as it was for lunch earlier in the day or the day before.

We decided to take a trip up on the gondola to catch the city from above, and of course we opted for the six trip luge pass. It was extremely fun, though more crowded than my luging in Rotorua.

On the walk back to town we came across a bit of a game going on outside of iFly Queenstown. You had three tries to get it in one of two helmets (50% off) or a smaller bucket (100% off). Both my mom and I managed to get it in the 50% helmets, though she decided she didn’t want to do it. I opted for 2 flights in the wind tunnel (since real sky diving isn’t exactly appealing to me). I was absolutely awful at it but it was fun, nonetheless.

Day 10: Arrowtown and Wanaka

Drive 1 hour and 15 minutes (via Arrowtown)
Arrowtown is a cute little town just outside of Queenstown. We arrived with no particular mission in mind except to explore. We did just that and walked in and out of the shops for a bit before deciding on a hike around Lake Hayes. It was about 8 km and took the better part of two hours.

We continued our journey to Wanaka and found it to be extraordinarily crowded. We had no idea what was going on and initially thought there was a marathon happening. Rather, it was a farm show, and supposedly the biggest of the year. It was quite the event and had horses everywhere, a carnival and more. We ventured to the main town area for some food and were so startled by the crowds of people that we entirely forgot to see the famous Wanaka tree right in the middle of the lake. Oh well! Our kayak guide later in the trip told us it is underwhelming.

Once we arrived at our accommodation in Albert Town, we decided on a walk (or run in my case) along the trail. Well, it went straight up to Mt. Iron and was quite the run considering I hadn’t in a while. The views were great though!



Night 10: Sue and Stu’s Airbnb (first time trying Airbnb in NZ and it was amazing, Sue and Stu were so great. As was their adorable dog Bobby.)

I feel as if I’ve covered so much but it was only four days. Luckily, there was more adventure to come and more sights to see as we continued our South Island New Zealand road trip.