Queenstown, Te Anau and Milford Sound

In April 2021 we flew to Queenstown in New Zealand’s South Island. The first time we had flown in nearly 18 months. We visited Te Anau, Manapouri, Milford Sound, Queenstown, Arrowtown and Cromwell. While the weather thwarted some of our plans we still had a great four days exploring. Some highlights included the drive in and out of Milford Sound (including snow on the way out), our cruise down the sound to the Tasman Sea and back, seeing the Kingston Flyer running for the first time since 2012 and a visit to the Highlands Motorsport Park. We stayed in Milford Sound overnight and if you ever get a chance to do this I can highly recommend it. The majority of people go to Milford Sound for the day so the cruises that leave around lunchtime are packed but if you are staying you can take the later cruises, ours left at 2.45pm, and there is hardly anyone there. When you get back the whole place is virtually deserted and you can explore in the peace and quiet of nature. We paid for all of our accommodation and activities and had a fantastic time on our cruise with Cruise Milford https://www.cruisemilfordnz.com/ and can recommend their service. The boats are easy to get around with plenty of space for viewing the scenery and wildlife and the staff were very friendly and informative. Also a big thank you to Fiordland Outdoors https://www.fiordlandoutdoors.co.nz/ We booked the water taxi to take us to the start of the Milford Track for a day walk but unfortunately I was sick overnight and couldn’t go and they very kindly refunded our booking. We heard from a number of people that their service is great so please check them out We stayed at the Milford Sound Lodge https://www.milfordlodge.com/ and had dinner at the Café there which was superb. Fantastic setting and friendly staff. We can also recommend Lakeside Motel and Apartments in Te Anau https://www.lakesideteanau.co.nz/. Clean and spacious room right on the lake front and very affordable. Edited using Shotcut: https://shotcut.org/ Intro Music: Happy Rock by Bensound - https://www.bensound.com/ Other Music: Eternal Garden – Dan Henig Love Aside – Patrick Patrikios Oceanside Bonfire – The Great North Sound Society