Milford Sound/Piopiotahi, New Zealand
Donovan Callaghan
Donovan Callaghan www.photosforgood.com.au
licensable
Milford Sound/Piopiotahi, New Zealand
Alexis Musso
Alexis Musso 500px.com/alexmusso
Milford Sound/Piopiotahi, New Zealand
Donovan Callaghan
Donovan Callaghan www.photosforgood.com.au
licensable
Milford Sound/Piopiotahi, New Zealand
Alexis Musso
Alexis Musso 500px.com/alexmusso
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Thank you for respecting the rights and efforts of our photographers. Please contact the author for further information.

New Zealand Milford Sound/Piopiotahi

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Despite being about 15 km long and quite wide, because the mouth is not immediately visible from the sea, even Captain James Cook, who was responsible for the first detailed map of New Zealand, missed it. It was found by a seal hunter who named it after Milford Haven in his native Wales. It was later renamed as a sound for political reasons.
There are still plenty of seals, penguins, dolphins and the occasional whale to be seen from tour boats. The local ecology is shaped by massive rainfall (250+ mm in a day is not unusual and rain on most days) which creates impressive waterfalls and also adds a 10-metre-deep layer of freshwater on top of the seawater.

Photography Tips

There are many stones and branches in this area that are perfect as foreground elements.
The waterfalls… some of the tour boats get, briefly, very close to the base of the fall. This creates problems:
1. You’ll be so close that you’ll need to have fitted an ultra-wide lens in advance if you want to try and capture a lot of waterfall in a single shot.
2. The spray, especially if you’re on the front of a boat, can result in you and your camera getting wet – expect rain even if you aren’t near a waterfall
3. You’ll need to dry tiny water droplets from your fitted lens filters if you’ve been anywhere near a waterfall: the droplets capture sunlight, putting light spots on subsequent photos until the droplets dry off or you remove them.

Travel Information

There is no tourist accommodation at Milford Sound.
You can fly or take a 4-hour bus trip from Queenstown. It's easier to stay in Te Anau which is a 1.5-hour drive if you resist the roadside photo opportunities.
There are tour boats from the tourist centre wharf. Booking tickets in advance is advised.
There is parking nearby marked on the map.
Spot Type Outdoor
Crowd Factor Nearly no other people
Best Timing Sunrise during summer
Sunrise & Sunset 08:00 - 19:45 | current local time: 06:41
Photo Themes Mountain Ocean Peaks sound

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Thank you Alexis Musso for creating this photo spot in New Zealand and Donovan Callaghan, Manuel Becker, Mia Pflieger, Edward for improving it with additional photos or content.
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