Home to beech and podocarp forests and sweeping, crystal-clear waters of pristine azure and turquoise blues, this stunning walk weaves across swing bridges, boardwalks and raw stone. It gives you the innate sense of being immersed in the forest itself.
The climbing vines clinging to the trees, the countless waterfalls among the trees, the barrelling glacier-fed rapids that lined the road in sections. It was all so mesmerising. It is no wonder why the Maori people hold Milford Sound so close to their hearts and their culture.
Cathedral Cove is magic, and you can kayak through it during high tide when the cave fills with water. You walk down along the coast carved out of cliffs, with a full view of the sapphire and turquoise ocean in some sections, and lush rainforests in others.
The water is the clearest and most tranquil turquoise colour that you can imagine. Lake Tekapo is picturesque, and it is also one of the places in NZ that is most famous for clear and bright sightings of the incredible Aurora Australis.
The drive into Queenstown is still one of the most beautiful things that I have ever seen in my life. Picture the kind of snow-capped mountains that you see all over tourism websites, and the kind of vibrantly clear water that seems impossible, and you have Queenstown.
The drive into Milford Sound is a scenic one, with extraordinary blue lakes and emerald trees, and mountains capped with snow white crests. There is nowhere on Earth quite like Milford Sound.
