Milford Road
Photo: Atanamir, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Possibly dubbed as one of the world's most beautiful drives, Milford Road (SH 94, sometimes Te Anau–Milford Hwy and Milford Sound Highway) is the sole road linking New Zealand's most popular fiord, Milford Sound, with the rest of the highway network at Te Anau. Although most travellers drive end-to-end from Te Anau to Milford Sound, there's plenty along the way between the two as much of the road is in Fiordland National Park in Southland. Do be wary, though, some of them can get very busy during peak holiday season, especially when there are tour buses around.
For the purposes of this article, this is a guide to travelling independently on the highway – if you are travelling on a tour bus, your itinerary will be chosen for you (which depends on operator).
UnderstandThe route of Milford Road could have taken a very different turn. Although the highway now starts at Te Anau, it was initially planned to start around Lake Wakatipu and run north-west from there.
PrepareThe drive is remote, but you won't need a whole lot for this journey unless you are veering onto one of the long-distance hiking trails such as the Routeburn Track (which is not in the scope of this itinerary); the one…
Get inMilford Road starts at Te Anau. Specifics on getting to the start of the highway can be found at Te Anau § Get in. Ensure you check weather conditions beforehand.
Drive
Stay safeTake extra care when driving this road. According to the NZ Transport Agency, it is the third-most dangerous section of the NZ State Highway network.g. slippery road).
RespectDo not feed wildlife at any point in time.
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Milford Road" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Atanamir, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons