A journey you never forget | What to see in the South Island part 1 | New Zealand - Milford Sound

welcome to New Zealand these are the breathtaking Landscapes you envision when you thinking about this incredible country it's an untouched Wilderness of incredible beauty that draws tourists from around the world of course it's also the land of the legendary hobbiton and many other locations from The Lord of the Rings here you can witness the incredibly stunning Starry Sky and be among the first on the planet to greet the dawn you will encounter Millennia old glaciers and countless other breathtaking sites all around you but what's New Zealand like in reality and what can you do here on your vacation that's what we're here to explore over the next few weeks and we will share it all with you before we embark on our journey let's start by understanding what New Zealand is and Google Maps will help us with that the country primarily consist of two islands the North Island and the South Island New Zealand is known for being one of the less settled regions with the mai people being the first to inhabit this lands you might recognize the mai from their famous Haw award dance often performed at various competitions such as rugby but now let's get back to our journey despite the country's relative small size it's packed with natural wonders in fact we've chosen to spend the next few weeks exploring just the South Island especially its stunning Central and Southwest regions you can certainly visit more places in 2 weeks but we still wanted it to be a vacation and have some time to enjoy this captivation ating views at the core of these breathtaking Landscapes lies the city of Queenstown often held as the most beautiful city in New Zealand by the way if you ever plan to visit Queenstown I highly recommend getting here by playe cuz the view from the window definitely adds a special thrill to the experience and I would recommend choosing a SE a on the left side if you're flying from Europe or the North Island but to be fair the view from any window City is incredibly [Music] beautiful as you probably noticed the breathtaking views begin even before you set your foot on the ground and once you do the real adventure begins and it's not with passport control as you might expect but with biocurity checks at these checkpoints you must declare any medicines food items and even clothing and shoes that could potentially carry any soil particles in November 2022 alone over 400 tourists were fined for not declaring one or more of the items I just mentioned to avoid the fine you have to list all the items you have in this declaration and be prepared for a very long queue one of the reasons of which is that your luggage has to be scanned to double check that you declared all the items such rigorous controls is just a way to protect the country's unique ecosystem even something as seemingly in nauseous as dirt on the shoe could pose a deadly threat to numerous native animals and plants but take my word for it all these measures are worth it and with these checks behind us we couldn't help but smile with joy knowing that we had finally arrived after clearing customs we went to pick up a rental car we had rented for our entire trip which by the way cost us a [Music] fortune we left the airport and we are searching for rental car not sure where to find the parking it seems like the rental car park situation can be quite confusing in here Leah went back to the rental company to ask about it and I see yeah I see her returning now as we later found out at the airport it's actually quite simple all we had to do was to follow these signs on the Pavements and they led us to the right [Music] spot by the way New Zealand Falls leftand traffic and and right hand drive but fortunately for us we have already adapted to this having lived in Australia so what's our plan for the next two weeks the first part of our journey including this video is about New Zealand's most popular tourist destination Milford Sound located nearly 300 km from Queenstown then we plan to return to the city and try ourselves in snowboarding on some of the Southern atmosphere's finest slopes and explore the scenic surroundings of Queenstown following that we plan to start gaze at Lake teapo and visit the country's highest mountain Mount Cook as a bonus we'll visit the pictures surroundings of the town of Mona to reach all of these destinations from our checklist we plan to cover approximately 2,000 km and no way we could do it without a car in 2 weeks so not wasting a second right from the airport with it off towards Milford Sound the road from Queenstown to Milford Sound is quite long so we decided to stop halfway in the small town of Tiano we have located for days for this initial part of the journey including our arrival day our plan involves a stop and a brief hike at the beginning of one of the fs a visit to milord sound itself and and Ascend up one of the mountains on our way back if you're Solly interested in mil for sound you can do this in a single day by car or you can take a tour from Queenstown where you'll be dropped off and picked up after the milord town Cruise however we wanted to make the most of this part of the trip especially given we have to travel 300 km one way so the goal was to see everything and more additionally Tiano is known to be the gateway to f Orland National Park making it a popular stop for refueling stocking up on supplies and deciding whether you'll need tire chains for the journey to Milford town after all Tiano is the last settlement for the next 120 km of the road leading to the F by the way there won't be any mobile reception along the entire route from Tiana to Milford Sound and within Milford Sound itself so be sure you have preloaded a map of the area and some good music for the drive but now we're checking in our cozy Farmhouse and the highlight of the night call self testing which is the requirement upon arrival the swaps right back into your nostril until resistance is f 2 [Music] C ah according to local regulations you're obliged to undergo and report your test results on the first and the fifth day of your arrival in the event of positive results you have to self-isolate and apparently start crying over your travel plans our covid test results were negative which meant this video will have some beautiful places to [Music] show morning today is a relax day for us we're catching up on sleep after our super early flight yesterday as you can probably tell from my sleepy face Additionally the weather today is quite rainy or you could even call it snowy and why to go anywhere when the view right from the window is like [Music] this [Music] this isn't our first time airb being on a farm and this Choice has never disappointed us highly recommend it another perk of stain on the farm is the chance to interact with the locals who are quite exotic for the city guys like us besides lots of horses and sheep which you would also see along the roads expect to see lots of deer here as New Zealand is the world's largest exporter of venison but this particular deer work quite skittish and would flee at any attempt to get closer so these shots are the closest we managed to get but this trip is all about Adventure so after spending some time home we decided to head off on a hike along Lake Tiana on the other side of the town the trail we chose is the starting point of a much longer 60k multi-day circuit track with roughly 1,300 M elevation leading further into the depth of furland while obviously the most stunning views are at the very top we still wanted to reach the nearest Lookout Point to witness some of the surrounding Landscapes with our own [Music] eyes [Music] we've started our first hike and I believe it's the only one for today we'll be walking for an hour and a half along Lake Tiano to reach the nearest campground called broadbay once we get there we'll decide whether not to continue our Ascent up the mountain because it depends on the weather conditions and the time we arrive even though it says this walk would only take an hour and a half the area itself is incredibly beautiful with small mountains streams flowing right across the track so we're spending a lot of time admiring the scenery and capturing all of it on camera so as I said once we get there we'll decide whether or not to continue or perhaps just turn back as we also need to prepare for our trip to Milford town tomorrow I believe I haven't mentioned this yet but as you might have guessed it's winter so it's quite surprising for us to see such vibrant Green Grass and Forest in the middle of winter guess partly because we are more accustomed to slightly faint land landscapes in Australia or at least in our state Victoria by the way it's worth mentioning that Tiano is often referred as one of the world's hiking capitals as three of nine longest routs in New Zealand start from here and we are tackling a parts of one of [Music] [Music] them in the end after reaching the campground and going about 150 M up we realized that if we continue it we would have to make the return journey in complete darkness so not to miss out on the beautiful views from the above we decided to head back to the campground get closer to the water and use a small life hack [Music] [Music] oh we are walking back to the car and probably have covered about half of the way by now and it's gotten quite dark fortunately we brought head torches with us as without them we would be stumbling in complete darkness so our next task is to get back to the car and head to the store to buy some supplies for the next two days because where we going there won't be any shops or gas stations so we need to bring everything with us and back as much as possible highly recommend everyone to carry a flashlight for unexpected night walks through the forest like this one and when we got back home and started preparing dinner suddenly a very fur local neighbor decided to pay a visit he peered calmly through the glass of our door and patiently waited for us to let him inside to warm up let me introduce you guys this is Claus I distinctly remember my first thoughts upon seeing him this isn't a cat it's more like a little fury lamb well he really does look like one perhaps he's like moggly transformed into a lamb simply by living on a sheep farm with sheep Claus already knew exactly where he wanted to go and the first thing he did was lie down on the heated kitchen floor and S starting cleaning himself and right after that like a magic he turned into an incredibly playful and adorable [Music] cat after warming up a bit Claus went back outside with a dignified gate despite the near zero temperature he seemed to be quite comfortable in his sheeplike furry C [Music] [Music] oh the next morning we were super lucky with the weather which was a really good sign for us as in reality the weather dictates going you to Milford Sound or not and there are situations when to get there is simply impossible New Zealand officials have declared a state of emergency as the biggest downpour on record is causing torrential rain and flooding with traffic chaos to avoid such scenarios the first step before embarking on the journey is to check the Waka kataki website which provides realtime information on the road conditions thanksfully the roads were open and the only point of concern at that time was whether we needed snow chains on our car wheels for the final section of the road when the chains are often required in Winter and without them you might be turned back so it's always a good idea to ask locals which exactly we did at the gas station where by the way we found a screen displaying the B a kataki website and the option to rent will change at a quite steep price by the way here's a travel de for future tourists if you renting a car with a slightly smaller Wheels than ours you can often find used chains on Facebook Marketplace for around 20 30 bucks which you can sell for the same price before flying back home with the roads open and beautiful weather we set off on our journey with a really good mod and high expectations [Music] while we're on our way to Milford Sound let me tell you a bit more about what it is and why it's so popular with stores although you'll see it producing yourselves Milford Sound or POI as Mai call it is one of the most popular and accessible Fs in New Zealand it's a major attraction on the south island and probably the Hall of New Zealand there are a total of 14 different Fs in furland National Park but only three of them are accessible this are dul sound Dusky sound and Milford Sound the other 11 FS can typically only be accessed on food through the mountains and Forest by water or by helicopter but by the way as not native English speakers we were not really familiar with the term sound but turns out it's just an English name for a fur for a long time visiting Milford Sound was a big challenge especially by land and could only be done on food however in 1935 the New Zealand's government allocated funds to build a tunnel that would provide easier access to the fur the very same tunnel that most people use today thanks for this development nearly 1 million tourists visited the F annually in preco times but now let's get back to our journey to Milford Sound and there are still many breathtaking views I would like to [Music] share [Music] [Music] we've just entered fjordland and it's already incredibly beautiful unfortunately we are quite short on time so there won't be many stops along the Route but this one it's worth it for sure after this point a series of world signs begin to appear indicating that drone flights are prohibited so we followed the rules and from now on all our shots will be from the ground by the way some of scenes of The Lord of the Rings were filmed somewhere in this area although I can say this about almost the entire South [Music] [Music] Island [Music] when we reach the final section of the road at the traffic lights leading to the tunnel we get surrounded by local mop Kia parrots which are known for their cheeky behavior and food extortion it was quite clear that this was a standard procedure for them as they seemed quite comfortable around our [Music] [Music] car we arrived and parked at a parking lot with a really nice view which by the way is the nearest free parking area to the cruise and it will take us about 20 minutes to walk to the actual Cruise although we have roughly 45 minutes before the start but we want to arrive a bit early so we picking up the pace sometimes enjoying a freebie requires a little sacrifice like this 20-minute walk but it's a longer pictures path so it's definitely worth it [Music] of course a visit to Milford sounds wouldn't be complete without taking a f Cruise which we obviously did however we were transferred to a smaller boat than originally planned as the entire crew of our original boat was in covid-19 self-isolation in addition to the cruise you can also explore Milford Sound by Kay or plane unfortunately the weather forecast wasn't good for kaying and a plane tour perhaps we will consider taking one next [Music] time [Music] newford sound is known for being one of the wetest places on Earth which results in numerous waterfalls of various sizes the most famous ones are steerling and Bowen Falls which we will pass on our way back and here is one of the many flying Falls which is not a name but a phenomenon when the water appears to hor due to a weak flow and strong wind this combination of rocks and water is truly spectacular with some rocks reaching Heights of 700 M and extending up to 500 M underwater creating a stunning backdrop for the fur in other other words the depth of this Bay can reach 500 M allowing not only Crews but large ships to easily navigate through Milford Sound along with the entire furland is a national park and it's protected by the New Zealand's government as such that's right flying drones is prohibited here and would not be a good idea anyway given the high volume of air traffic in this area and the presence of a local airport after reaching the Tasman SE and turning back the humid maritime climate made the experience a bit chilly and as you can see quite wet despite moving from a large ball to the smaller one and the deck being crowded at the start of the cruise very few dared to venture out in such weather yet what but smiling we stayed at the deck to seize every second of these breathtaking views and this is steerling Falls it might seem tiny against those massive rocks but it stands tall at 151 M or a 50 level building one of entertainments during the cruise is to see water straight from the waterfall sadly this option wasn't available for us as we switched to a smaller board but the option to get soaked under the waterfall was always on the [Music] table as you can see not many besides us were up to a waterfall Plunge in this [Music] weather while the fur is known for its dolphins and Penguins our loock only brought us sea liines but this was still pretty [Music] [Music] cool [Music] we're return return back to Milford Sound Sport and to be honest those two hours just flew by sure it was wet cold and a bit windy but the memories are worth it especially when you're sailing right up to the waterfall yes you get a splash of water and wind but you can literally taste the [Music] waterfall Milford Sound held onto US urging us to stay until sunset savoring those postcard worthy F [Music] views and just like that out of blue we cut sides of bow and falls from a different angle and started making millions of photos and videos from every side looking at the scenes it's becoming quite clear why our phone storage is always maxed [Music] out [Music] yeah on the way back to the car at Twilight we spotted one of vka birds which we initially mistook for the Kiwi the symbol of New Zealand but apparently not this [Music] time we're finally back at the parking spot and it's already quite dark to be honest but still just as beautiful nothing changed still just as beautiful I thought for a while about what the mountain reminded me of and it just struck me now it looks like a Macbook desktop screen saver and especially from that [Music] angle as the darkness began to fall we headed to a small motel or you can call it a campground which was in the woods along the mil for road where we would spend the night before continuing our f and trip tomorrow this is the cabin where we stayed and these are fantastically beautiful morning views which now will certainly stay in our memories for a very long [Music] time here in addition to cabin there is an option to pit your tent however looking at the layer of frost on the grass and trees and a little snow from last night I think it's best to leave this option for the summer although to be honest we already missed the snow a little so today our plan is to hike higher up the mountain to one of the Peaks accessible for hiking but before that we need to spend some time at a couple of traffic lights there are pit stops every 3 400 m here near this Lake allot people to stop and enjoy this simply gorgeous view and it's also quite cold [Music] here while we were standing by the lake taking Forest of the mountains we missed our green light so now we're just sitting and waiting for the next [Music] one [Music] we parked in one of the parking lots on the way from our last accommodation to Milford Sound a place called The Divide a couple of track starts from here which we will both attempt to tackle today one leading to kit and another one to Maran Lookout so let's get started this place is very popular as it marks the beginning of the rot bir track one of New Zealand's famous great walks the track takes you through furland and mount aspiring national parks all the way into Paradise yes you've heard that right Paradise that is the name of the place on the other end of the track which we will visit later on from Queenstown in fact this track would be the shortest way to Queenstown if there was a road for cars at the moment the shortest route to the city is almost 300 km by huge tour through Tiano but from here it's only 25 km to the nearest highway on the other side of the mountain and from there it just 75 km by car and you in Queenstown so it turns out that this route could be almost three times shorter so our plan is to hike a portion of the rot bur track to capture a panoramic view of the snowcapped mountains surrounding [Music] us [Music] [Music] wow that's a small waterfall right in the middle of their Ro it says we must continue without stopping so we will go as recommended however it turns out the no stopping area was just up to this sign and we simply missed [Music] it [Music] I guess that's how first sign looks like indicating that you are in the winter [Music] mountains [Music] every we've climbed 270 M up and I think this is the [Music] place where we should take a break because there is almost a 360° view of the [Music] mountains [Music] as we Ascend the view of the mountains becomes more picturesque just look at this I'm really looking forward to what we'll see at the very [Music] top [Music] a little Mischief for us who is the [Music] winter we've reached one of the pigs and it's almost a complete panoramic view with just one exception over there I hope there will be a point with a complete [Music] 36 [Music] for me personally this was already an incredible Adventure among the snowcap mountains as it was my first such experience while this may not have been super high mountains being surrounded by mountains on all sides was breathtaking added to this during the entire Ascent we met only a couple of people so there was a strong feeling that we were in the wilderness some views and places where you can get a 360 Panorama of the surrounding mountains are so captivating that you can get bored of spending in an hour or even several hours there you only want to stay [Music] longer to justify our extended stop we decided to have a snack right on the one of the Rocks facing the Frozen mini Lake even after that we continue to walk and film around the lake for quite some time watching this video now it brings back where pleasant [Music] [Applause] [Music] memories [Music] [Applause] unfortunately winter days are short especially in the mountains so we had to keep moving covering the last few meters to see the promised postcard view of lake Maran we ended up spending more time than expected at the last Lookout about an hour maybe a little bit more however the sign we just passed said that it's about 5 minute walk to the last point of Maran Lookout so we are getting there taking phot us and heading back right after that as the sun is beginning to set and there is a few hours drive to Queenstown where by the way we staying for the night when I said a few hours I meant almost 300 km and about 3 and 1/2 hours drive and here we are the last few meters before reaching this much anticipated Lookout or at least that's what I thought that moment when it's super windy and cold so you put on all your extra layers sck continue walking and finally see the lake but there is no Lake there the lake is actually over there on the horizon it turned out to be a bit of disappointment as there was not much of a lake view from there this certainly wasn't the primary goal of our walk rather we were aiming for a panoramic view of the snowy mountains nevertheless this was a good lesson for us for the future we need to bet to read the details of the Lookouts we plan to [Music] visit I must say it's actually quite sad to be heading back now because the sunlight is just perfect and it's the ideal lighting to capture the mountains from this side however I can see that just maybe in 20 minutes it will start getting much much darker as the sun sets behind that mountain and we still have to make our way to the parking lot and then drive for a few hours to reach queenstone and if we don't head off now we will be driving in complete darkness so let's go back to the parking this marks the end of the first part of our trip to to New Zealand and I think we tick mil for sound off our list when asked whether it was worth spending full four days here or it could be done with just a day trip and a cruise our answer is resounding yes we would even be prepared to spend more time here as besides these popular locations there are numerous other places the beauty of which is almost unbelievable and we're certain that we will return here which I believe conclusively answers the question what whether it was worth it or [Music] not

Channel: Pack Up Explore

Views: 14,952

Keywords: New Zealand, Milford Sound, Travel, Queenstown, Canada, Norway, Traveling around Australia, Hidden gems, NZ, LoR, Auckland, Australia, Lord of the Rings, New Zealand South Island

Id: EMIqWrKTe1g

Length: 42min 51sec (2571 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 12 2024