Driving from Milford Sound to the Homer Tunnel in Fiordland

Categories: Southland Region

Tags: dashcam, driving, fiordland, fiordland national park, homer tunnel, milford sound, new zealand, road trip, scenic, scenic drive, sh94

Added: 2 years ago

Driving from Milford Sound to the Homer Tunnel - Road trip along SH94 in the Fiordland National Park, in the Southland Region of New Zealand's South Island.

The Milford Road is a unique and scenic alpine journey considered one of the world's finest drives. The magnificence of this drive even amazes locals used to New Zealand's breathtaking scenery. Drive along next to sparkling clear-blue lakes. Then through valleys with towering rugged ranges, over wild cascading rivers, through lush rain forests, and around majestic cliff faces. After this, you finally reach the high alpine Homer Tunnel, emerging to reveal a dramatic, scenic glacial valley. After this, you finally get the panoramic and iconic Milford Sound.

The Milford Road, or SH94 (State Highway 94), is the 119 km road from Te Anau to Milford Sound. It is one of the highest and most scenic roads in New Zealand. The only road access to Milford Sound gives visitors a taste of the Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand World Heritage Area with the diverse landscapes of Fiordland National Park.

Because the road cuts through the Fiordland National Park, no shops or services are along the way. This is the same for Milford Sound as well.

The drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound covers everything, from lush beech forest and vast valleys to mirroring lakes, towering mountains and impressive road engineering feats. While the final reward is the fantastic vista of Milford Sound, Milford Road delivers a journey that is every bit as impressive as the destination.

These include the Eglinton Valleys' lowland pastures and tussock country, stands of native bush and rocky, mountainous areas around the Homer Tunnel, and alpine herb fields. There are also many walks along Milford Road, ranging from a short boardwalk past Mirror Lakes to longer walks like the rewarding Lake Marian track or the spectacular Chasm walking track.

Milford Road offers plenty of opportunities to pull over and stop for photos, short walks and viewpoints. One of the most impressive sights of the journey along Milford Road is the incredible engineering feat, the Homer Tunnel. Until the construction of this 1.3 km tunnel through the mountainside, Milford Sound was only accessible to those intrepid tourists who arrived by boat or walked there along the Milford Track. The Homer Tunnel was bored through the sheer granite of the Darran Mountains. Construction began in 1935 and did not finish until 1953, 18 years later.

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