Milford Sound is not a sound at all, but a fjord, carved by a glacier and flooded by the sea, in the far south-west of New Zealand. Steep cliffs rise from the water to over 1,200 metres, including Mitre Peak, a pyramid of rock that dominates the view, and waterfalls drop from the heights, especially after rain, when hundreds appear. The area is part of Fiordland National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the wettest places in the world, with about 6,800 millimetres of rain a year. There is no town here, only a small terminal for cruises, a few buildings and a runway. Te Anau, the nearest town, is about 120 kilometres away.
The Milford Road is a legend among riders. It leaves Te Anau and follows the lake and the Eglinton Valley, a flat-bottomed glacial valley with beech forest and tussock, and then climbs towards the Homer Tunnel, a one-lane tunnel about 1.2 kilometres long, cut through solid rock, which took nearly twenty years to build and opened in 1953. It slopes steeply downwards, and traffic is controlled by lights. Beyond it, the road zigzags down to the fjord. The surface is good, but the road is narrow, and tour buses are common.
Also take warm and waterproof clothing, because the weather can change from sun to storm quickly. In winter and spring, avalanches threaten the road, and it is sometimes closed for days; check conditions before you set out. Chains may be required, and the Homer Tunnel is cold and wet. In summer, sandflies are fierce at the fjord, and insect repellent is a good idea.
The wildlife is memorable: kea, the mountain parrots, hang around the tunnel and the car parks, and they enjoy picking at bike seats and straps, so be careful. Fur seals bask on the rocks, bottlenose dolphins swim in the fjord, and the Fiordland crested penguin nests in the forest. A cruise on the water, which takes about two hours, gives you the scale of the cliffs. In rain, the waterfalls turn the fjord into something unforgettable.