We knew our base for five nights, Queenstown, was the launching point for excursions to the famous Milford Sound. That said, when we got closer we came to realize it was a 5+ hour drive on windy roads to reach the sound.
Another Option
Thanks to following the adventures of another family traveling (thanks Sullivan family), we knew prior to arriving in Queenstown of an option to fly in/fly out, so we booked it. Rather than two full days and an overnight...the plan meant we'd leave our place at 8:15am, enjoy a 35 minute flight out to Milford Sound, a 1.5 hr boat tour on the sound, return flight and be back in Queenstown by lunchtime. Yes please!
Pre-Flight Anxiety Levels
Paige - this is going to be cool
Sadie - a small plane, amazing
Doug - a cool cucumber
Sarah - high
***Spoiler Alert*** - we survived!
We called in the morning to confirm we were on and it was a go. It was quite foggy when we woke up, so we weren't sure. We came to learn that they only end up going 60-70% of the time because of variable weather conditions inherent in the area.
We arrived and checked in. There were a total of four planes going that morning with Air Milford, 12 persons per bird.
Flight Path
One of the pilots took the lead in explaining the flight paths to the larger group. It happened to be Alex, our pilot. Because of the foggy conditions, we'd be taking a secondary route, but he explained that pretty quickly after takeoff we'd be beyond the area of fog from both a safety and visual standpoint.
And We're Off
I'm no Hemingway, so I won't even try to describe the scenery. Ok, I'll try, here it goes:
"Situated on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, Milford Sound is a world renowned area of extraordinary beauty. It receives an average yearly rainfall of approximately 300 inches because it is situated on one of the world’s most formidable coastlines, which is subject to rapidly changing weather conditions."
Full transparency, the above is from the Air Milford website.
Here's a video of the outbound flight.
Production credit: Me
Caption Credit: Sadie
Australian Fires
The pilot explained the imprints of the nasty fire season wrapping up in Australia. The brown on the snow caps is a result of all the smoke pollution blowing by.
Finally we hit the coast and then turned back in, dropping down into Mildford sound, landing at the small airport at the base of the sound. Total flight time, 35 minutes.
After landing, we jumped on a bus for a two minute ride to the dock where a boat was waiting for a 1.5 hour ride through the sound itself. You can see more about being on the water in this blog post. (COMING SOON)
Return Flight
We lifted off at 12:00 noon for our return flight to Queensland.
Arriving back in Queenstown and a quick look at the cockpit when we were back on the ground.
By 1:00pm we were back at our home base and sitting down for lunch.
The flight was silky smooth and in the end there were little nerves. Seeing the area from the air and from the sea was a perfect way to see what this place is all about.
Perspective
At one point during the flight, Paige was reading while Sadie was looking down at her hands.
Sarah and I chatted how sometimes as a parent you forget that kids don't necessarily have a "wow" perspective that we more aged folks do. That's OK, all the experiences do combine, setting them up to be curious people who will explore on their own one day.
That said, I did say at one point, maybe we should have just gone and got a sitter for the morning on this one. It certainly wasn't cheap ;)
Not all "big spots" deliver in travels. This experience did.
Best flights of the trip!
Comments