Not sure what I was expecting on the trip to Milford Sound, but we were told it took 5 hours. The bus arrived at our hotel and it was very nice with glass panels in the roof and big windows. All the seats had been slightly angled towards the windows and they were banked so you could see in front too. The company was very in to ecology and preservation of the land and its animals. The driver was very knowledgeable about everything and stopped frequently for photos and short walks to stunning waterfalls etc. We got to Milford Sound (the wettest place in New Zealand , with an annual rainfall of 9metres) and the sky was blue and it was red hot. The boat was a copy of an 1800's boat and we had a very comfy ensuite cabin. We started off in a strong wind but they had us off the boat in small tender craft looking at penguins or should I say a penguin. Some even went out in kayaks but it was a tad windy and choppy for me. Dinner was a grand buffet cooked onboard followed by a slide show all about the area.
I don't have enough adjectives to describe this part of the world. Awesome, stunning,brilliant,mind blowing, huge, majestic. Pictures cannot do the place justice. There was a waterfall three times higher than Niagra falls. It made our boat seem like a Lilliput craft.