Milford Sound Kayaking

Every Trip at a Glance

The table gathers the published details of every Rosco's kayak trip from the facts supplied by the operator and Milford Sound Lodge. Start times are not stated on the pages this site could read, so check with the operator when you book. The Day Safari is the outlier because it includes transport from Te Anau, a drive of about 120 km that takes 2 hours 15 minutes to 2.5 hours without stops.

What Each Trip Covers

The Milford Cruiser is the easiest paddle, 3 hours from Deepwater Basin and it includes Lady Bowen Falls, at NZ$205 per person for ages 8 and up. The Sunriser Classic is a 5 hour loop from Deepwater Basin for ages 14 and up at NZ$220. Milford Sound Lodge describes it as a 10 km loop with 3 to 3.5 hours of paddling inside the 5 hour trip, at moderate difficulty.

The Stirling Sunriser is a tough one. It takes a water taxi to Stirling Falls and paddles back, up to 4 hours of paddling in 5 hours, for ages 16 and up at NZ$335. Rosco's calls it a 12 km paddle near Stirling Falls. Sources list the falls at 151 m and 155 m.

The Paddle n Walk is 5.5 hours for ages 12 and up at NZ$195, paddling to Sandfly Point and walking part of the Milford Track. The Twilighter Wind & Waves is a 5 hour afternoon trip in more turbulent conditions for ages 16 and up at NZ$325. The Morning Glory is a 5.5 hour early-morning tough trip for ages 16 and up at NZ$340, and Milford Sound Lodge says it paddles 18 km to the Tasman Sea and returns by water taxi.

The Harrison Cove Quicky uses a water taxi to Harrison Cove for a 1 hour paddle inside a 3 hour afternoon trip, NZ$310 per person, ages 16 and up. Harrison Cove was the first place settlers anchored in Milford Sound. Finally the Day Safari runs 9 to 11 hours at NZ$275 per person for ages 14 and up, with transport from Te Anau, so the road time is built in.

Milford Sound Lodge adds general limits that apply to the trips it lists: a minimum age of 8 with a 25 kg minimum weight, a 110 kg weight limit and a 1.93 m height limit, and children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult in the kayak.

How the Kayaking Works

The Overnight Cruise costs $391 per person for 17 hours aboard the Milford Mariner, which sleeps 64 guests and carries 20 kayaks and 2 tender craft. Kayaking is available to guests aged 10 years and over, children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult, and all activities are weather-dependent. There is no separate kayak fee stated, unlike the standalone Rosco's trips at NZ$195 to NZ$340.

The vessel departs the Milford Sound terminal daily at 4pm and returns the next day at 9.15am, with check-in at the Milford Sound Visitor Terminal at least 30 minutes before departure. An onboard nature guide shares the history, geology and wildlife of the fiord, and cabins are private with ensuites, with limited quad share bunk-style compartments. Dinner and breakfast are included, lunch is not mentioned. The full breakdown of cabins, food and the evening anchorage is on the Milford Sound overnight cruise page.

For many visitors this is the most practical form of Milford Sound kayaking. The listing gives about 1 hour of optional kayaking from the vessel, which anchors in a sheltered cove, and you sleep on the fiord instead of driving back to Te Anau on the Milford Road. A $30 overnight parking charge applies, and the cruise heads out toward the Tasman Sea the next day, weather permitting.

Rain and Wind

Milford Sound gets more than 6,000 mm of rain a year, and rainfall can reach 250 mm in 24 hours. That rain creates dozens of temporary waterfalls, some falling a thousand metres, fed by rain-soaked moss and lasting a few days after the rain stops. RealNZ says many say you have not seen Fiordland unless you have seen it in the rain.

For a kayaker, rain means more waterfalls but also a higher chance that trips are cancelled, because kayak operators and the overnight cruise both treat the water as weather-dependent. Monthly rain days range from 12.8 in February to 17.6 in September and October. Mean temperatures run from a daily maximum of 9.2 C in July to 20.0 C in February, with a record high of 29.4 C and a record low of -6.1 C. The seasonal picture and what to expect month by month is in the Milford Sound weather guide.

The Marine Reserve You Paddle In

Piopiotahi Marine Reserve was established in 1993 by a group of concerned local fishermen. It is 16 km long and covers 690 hectares along the northern side of the fiord, and it is one of 10 marine reserves in Fiordland. Two rules matter on the water.

Fishing of any kind and taking marine life are banned in the reserve. And the reason divers and paddlers come here is unusual: tannins from forest leaf litter form a dark freshwater surface layer that lets deepwater species such as black coral and red coral be seen at easily diveable depths. It is the only marine reserve where you can see black and red coral.

Species on the northern rock wall include sea pens, tubeworms, sponges, sea squirts and anemones.

Wildlife from a Kayak

Seals, dolphins and penguins are possible sightings from the water. New Zealand fur seals, kekeno, sunbathe and rest at Seal Rock between fishing trips, and they are the most common seals in New Zealand with a growing population. A resident population of bottlenose dolphins, aihe, lives in the fiord, the southernmost wild population of the species.

Fiordland crested penguins, tawaki, are best seen during the July to November breeding season and can also appear during moulting from mid-January to early March. The tawaki population is between 2,500 and 3,000 breeding pairs, and each bird is about 55 cm long and averages 3.5 kg. RealNZ lists possible sightings of kea, penguins, dolphins, albatross and fur seals and states plainly that sightings are not guaranteed.

Kea live around the Homer Tunnel area on the drive in, and feeding them is harmful, so do not.

Sandflies and What to Wear

Sandflies are present at Milford Sound and along the Milford Road, so pack insect repellent. Milford Sound Kayaks equipment as listed by Milford Sound Lodge includes a life jacket, thermals, spray skirt, paddle jacket, neoprene gloves and a dry bag, so the operator covers the technical kit. Your job is the base layer.

Bring warm and waterproof layers, and a windproof jacket is worth having for any time on open water. Average relative humidity at Milford Sound is 92.8%, which means nothing dries quickly, so a spare warm layer in the dry bag is sensible.

Cost, Time and Effort Compared

The cheapest kayak trip is the Paddle n Walk at NZ$195 for 5.5 hours, and the longest hard paddles run to NZ$340. Day cruises booked through this site start at $80 per person for the Classic and Signature Cruises and the Mitre Peak Small Boat Cruise sits at $100 for 2 hours. The bookable day cruises need no paddling fitness and run from the Milford Sound Visitor Terminal, a 10-minute walk from the car park via a covered walkway.

The kayak trades comfort for proximity. At paddle height you are metres from the water, close to the water in a way no cruise deck matches, and the fiord's 1,692 m Mitre Peak is directly overhead. The cost is time and risk. A 5-hour loop consumes most of a day that could hold a cruise, and a rough morning can cancel the whole plan. Rain days run at 12.8 to 17.6 a month, so the odds of wet weather on any given day are real.

There is a middle path. The Overnight Cruise at $391 includes 20 kayaks for guests aged 10 and over, so you get a paddle and a night aboard. For a straight comparison of every day cruise, coach trip and flight, see the Milford Sound boat tour comparison on the homepage.

• Choose a kayak trip if you are 16 or over, reasonably fit and want the fiord at water level.
• Choose a day cruise if you have limited time, are travelling with children or want shelter from the rain.
• Choose the overnight cruise if you want both a paddle and a night on the fiord.