Milford Sound Observation Deck — Attraction in Fiordland Community

Milford Sound is actually a fiord, not a sound. Sounds are formed when a river valley is flooded by the sea, whereas Milford Sound was formed by the erosion of ancient glaciers.

In places the fiord is up to 400 metres (1,312 feet) deep.

The drive time Te Anau to Milford with no stopping is a minimum of 2 hours.  There are over over a dozen places to stop and take photos or visit. It is a whole day to visit.

State Highway 94 (SH94), or the Milford Road is one of the highest and most scenic state highways in New Zealand.

At its highest point, the Milford Road is 940 metres (3,083 feet) above sea level.

It passes through stunning landscapes including mountain ranges, glacier-carved valleys, clear blue lakes and native rainforest.

Milford Sound is the wettest inhabited place in New Zealand, and one of the wettest places in the world! The mean annual rainfall in Milford Sound is 6,813mm, (over 6 metres of rain in a year) and it rains there on average 200 days a year.  Be prepared for rain.

The stunning Mitre Peak rising 1.6km vertically out of Milford Sound in the Fiordland...

I have a hard time recommending this lookout unless you are not fit and will not be doing any hiking. The platform would be better if it was further up (at least twice as high). The trail abruptly stops and you don’t have a great view. It was cloudy for us, so that could be part of the reason. However even with clear views, it really should be higher to be...

Nice viewpoint right behind the restaurant and café. It's a 5-10 minute walk up to the viewing platform. It's mostly stairs, easy to walk but not wheelchair accessible.

Views are great and some extra information can be found on a board.

Would recommend if you have a spare 30 minutes before or after...