Day 6 : Te Anau - Milford Sound - Invercargill

DAY 6: 19.09.2015 (Te Anau – Milford Sound – Invercargill)

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things” – Henry Miller

Started our day at Te Anau Lakeview Kiwi Holiday Park early in the morning for Subuh and preparing breakfast and our pre packed lunch thereafter. Breakfast pagi tu buat roti kaya and maggi goreng sikit. Woke up the kids untuk mandi dan siap-siap and had breakfast in our Motorhome. Kami mandi kat holiday park punya toilet/shower sebab lagi selesa dan tak perlu nak jimat air. Kahkah! Lagipun di holiday park, powered site kami memang kesemuanya tak jauh dari toilet, laundry room and kitchen. Maybe masa booking, they took into consideration that kami ada kids. Sementara tu hubby pastikan our Motorhome cukup air dan buat dumping sekejap. 

At 8.45am kami bergerak ke Reception untuk check on the road to Milford Sound. They informed us that the road was opened and the weather was great that day. We were informed that the road to Milford Sound was one way in and one way out, so it was unlikely to be missed or lost. We dropped by to refill Diesel (NZD36.00) right after we checked out from Te Anau Lakeview Kiwi Holiday Park.

TIPS: Must check the road to Milford Sound before bertolak dan wajib penuhkan tangki minyak kenderaan sebab there was no petrol station along the way to Milford Sound. Actually we've found one place with a small signboard on ‘Emergency Fuel’ but we didn’t bother to check that out. So better be safe, isi jelah full sebelum ke Milford, OK?

The journey to Milford Sound from Te Anau Lakeview Kiwi Holiday Park took about 1 hour 50 mins (119km). Kami dah booking ticket cruise siap-siap dari Malaysia melalui website Treatme. Ada coupon murah for any departures on Milford Sound Cruise (Jucy Cruize) under ECO Tours Fiordland offered sebulan sebelum kami ke NZ.

Cruise Times and Prices

Adult Ticket Price Departures $45.00 9:15am summer / 9:45am winter $69.00 *Website Special  $59.00 11:15am summer / 11:45am winter $79.00 *Website Special  $69.00 1:15pm summer / 1:45pm winter $65.00 3:15pm summer only

Children are $15 on all cruises and Infants are free. Prices are quoted in $NZD.

*11:45am and 1:15pm cruises - Book Online and Save $10 (for a limited time)

Seasons: Summer 01 October to 30 April | Winter 01 May to 30 September

The above prices as advertised in Jucy Cruise website. We've got a good deal on this as below:

  

Sangatlah murah, terus je kami beli via online. Lepas dah dapat voucher, we had to email them the voucher numbers and booking for 1 toddler and 1 infant (4yo and under) sebab tickets also will be provided for them. Untuk toddler (NZD15 - 5yo to 15yo) kena terus bayar kat kaunter sana bila redeem ticket voucher di atas.

Pemandangan along the way to Milford adalah sungguh indah, subhanallah. Memang berzikir je sepanjang jalan tu. Our Tourism Radio (included for free in the Motorhome bila kita pilih full insurance cover) banyak juga spot on beautiful places along the way. Kami booking Cruise at 11.45pm (Winter – September is still be considered as late Winter) so kami sempat berhenti area Eglinton Valley sekejap sebab takut rushing to catch the Cruise.

Eglinton Valley

“The Eglinton Mountains above Lake Gunn were used as a location in the Peter Jackson movie The Fellowship of the Ring where the actors walk along a mountain path with the Key Summit evident in the distance. The mountains here were also used in the Fellowship of the Ring introduction to represent the Misty Mountains.” – Peter Jackson

Some of the driving attractions as stated in the website to Milford Sound (will be notified by Tourism Radio provided inside the Motorhome):

At 59kms into your journey you’re in Mirror Lakes. Here you will find a boardwalk that leads through an attractive beech forest and wetlands with pools reflecting the Earl Mountains

At 65kms into your journey you’re in Knobs Flat. The name Knobs Flat comes from the rich terrain where kames and hummocks are left behind by retreating glaciers. Here you will also find amenities such as a toilet stop, campsite and phone.

At 77kms into your journey you’re at Cascade Creek/Lake Gunn. Here you will find a nature walk along a loop track through a red beech forest and along the lake edge.

At 102kms into your journey you’re at Homer Tunnel. At 922m this is the highest point on the Milford Road. Before the tunnel you will find parking bays at the side of the road where the native mountain parrot named the Kea is frequently seen. The Homer Tunnel which opened in 1954 was once the longest gravel-surfaced tunnel in the world (Wikipedia, 24/12/2010). This tunnel descends 129m over its 1.2m length, has a gradient of 1 in 10 and exits at an elevation of 793m.

At 110kms into your journey you’re at The Chasm. Via a concrete and decked track, take an easy stroll through a luxuriant forest which provides access to a 22m deep ravine where the Cleddau River has cut through the rock (diorite), carving fascinating formations in this landscape.

Inside the Homer Tunnel

We arrived at Milford Sound at 10.45am. Tiba-tiba Khayra muntah sikit so hubs bersihkan Khayra and I went inside the Lobby sebab nak tanya tentang redemption tickets. Masa tu ada a few tourists tengah beratur nak beli tickets cruise. Sempat berkenalan dengan one lady from China. Dia pun baru nak beli ticket dan terkejut aku dapat ticket murah. Hehe. Bila sampai my turn, the lady said kami kena terus pergi ke terminal untuk redeem ticket. 

So I went back to our Motorhome dan kami bergerak terus ke terminal. Jalan kaki ke terminal dari parking area adalah about 10 – 15 mins walk. Jauh hokay, better korang sampai awal sikit dari departure time. 

At the terminal building, Jucy Cruize Counter terletak on first check in desk on the right side if entering the terminal from the main entry doors. Kami terus tunjukkan bukti email confirmation on our booking, so dapat 4 tickets / cards to check in the cruise nanti. So sementara tunggu nak check in (must check in 20 mins before departure time), kami sempatlah pusing-pusing terminal sekejap dan bergambar. 

Bila dah cukup masa nak boarding the cruise, kami terus pergi ke terminal number 3 untuk boarding. Kad Jucy Cruise tu dia ambil dan tak pulangkan so tade kenangan ye nanti. Hehe.

Cruising time was about 1 hour 45 mins. Ada diantaranya cruise kami mendekati air terjun yang sungguh indah. Siap ada pelangi kat area air terjun tersebut. Dan ada ketikanya boleh nampak seals from the deck view. Sambil tu boleh masuk dalam cruise untuk minum tea or coffee (free flow). Agak basah juga bila cruise menghampiri air terjun so better selamatkan kamera semua lah. Hehe. The best thing about this cruise adalah we've got to be closed to Mitre Peak and Bowen Falls yang sungguh indah. Subhanallah!

Info tentang Mitre Peak dan Bowen Falls from Jucy Cruise website:

MITRE PEAK – Check out one of the tallest mountains in the world to rise directly from the sea floor. Mitre Peak rises to a height of 1692m and forms one of the most dominant and photographed landmarks of Milford Sound. If you look closely to the top you will see a shape resembling a Bishop’s headpiece.

BOWEN FALLS – Otherwise known as Lady Bowen Falls, it is named after the wife of Sir George Bowen, one of New Zealand’s early governors in the 1870’s. This spectacular waterfall is one of the only two permanent falls and drops 160m from a classic hanging valley in the Darren Mountain Range.

Sejuk menggigil sebenarnya atas dek cruise ni :P

Kantoi, anakku Khayra ber-selfie :P

Indahnya, Subhanallah. Rezeki kami dapat tengok pelangi dari jarak dekat :D

Free flow coffee and tea inside the deck.

Rezeki kami juga boleh nampak seals dari cruise hari tersebut :D

Hafiya dengan model Jucy Cruize :P (bergambar dalam dek cruise ditingkat bawah)

Other Milford Sound Cruise attractions can be read here.

The cruise ended at 1.30pm dan kami terus ke Motorhome sambil bergambar-gambar sedikit area luar terminal building dan terserempak dengan one Indian family from Perak. Sempatlah borak sekejap. Kami ni agak peramah sebenarnya. Hahaha. Sempat juga kami buat nappy change Hafiya di toilet - tempat untuk nappy change ada disediakan dalam toilet diterminal building. Kebetulan juga tengah tunggu husband pergi toilet, ada guard kat situ berkenan tengok the kids then datang borak-borak dengan kami. Lepas tu dia bagi budak-budak tu potato chips sepeket seorang yang dia pergi beli sendiri kat machine area dalam terminal.

Mitre Peak

Main entrance to Terminal building

Inside the Terminal building - the kids dengan potato chips yang pak guard bagi :P

Ini adalah gambaran perjalanan ke Terminal building. Agak jauh juga, so better sampai awal.

Gambar sewaktu berjalan kaki ke parking area di Milford Sound.

So memandangkan dah masuk Zuhur, kami solat sekejap and had our picnic lunch (nasi putih, ayam masak kurma dan chicken nuggets) dalam Motorhome sebab kat luar tu sejuk menggigil dengan angin sepoi-sepoi bahasa.

Rezeki kami juga haritu dapat experience tunggu Homer Tunnel buka laluan (sebab one way direction road). Masa ni traffic light merah, so kena stop sampai semua kereta dari sebelah sana jalan. Lepas traffic light bertukar hijau, baru kita boleh gerak. Ada info tentang berapa lama kita perlu menunggu traffic light bertukar hijau. Sempat kami turun sekejap ber-selfie :P

Pemandangan sewaktu on the way back dari Milford Sound. Cantik, Subhanallah. Memang hati berzikir je sepanjang jalan sebab kagum dengan kehebatan ciptaan Allah SWT.

Dalam perjalanan balik dari Milford Sound, kami singgah untuk bergambar di Mirror Lakes and Eglinton Valley semula dan beberapa pit stops lain yang indah-indah belaka. Cantik sangat. Sebenarnya aku tak khatam pun lagi tengok Lord of the Rings (LOTR) so tak boleh relate pemandangan dengan jalan cerita, but hubby was so excited with all the scenery.

Signature picture yang wajib kalau sampai Mirror Lakes :P

Mirror Lakes - boleh nampak signature signboard kat belakang kami :P

Alhamdulillah we were safely arrived at Invercargill Top 10 Holiday Park at 7.40pm (sebab banyak pit stops along the way) dalam hujan renyai. The lady yang jaga holiday park tersebut sangat baik and she walked with me to show our powered site sebab dekat sangat dengan lobby. Dinner malam tu adalah Spaghetti Chicken Bolognese untuk aku dan suami serta untuk kids aku masak angel hair pasta with mushroom soup. Makan panas-panas kemudian terus nak beradu.

Tapi before tidur tu baru realised that air dalam Motorhome kami dah hampir habis (air dari sinki sangat slow dan agak tersumbat) jadi kami kena buat dumping tapi the kids dah tidur waktu tu. Tapi memandangkan dumping area tak berapa jauh dan esok pagi-pagi aku nak memasak so lagi convenience untuk refill air terus dan sekaligus buat dumping, so kami just bawa je Motorhome tu ke dumping site dan reload air serta buat dumping ditengah malam dengan sejuk menggigil. Hehehe. Then baru boleh tidur dengan aman. Zzzzz.