X - 2022 - Fiordland Photography Tour

NZD $4,295.00
  • Duration: 5 Days

Join Richard Young on this 5-day landscape photography tour at both Milford & Doubtful Sound - some of New Zealand’s and the World’s most revered and stunning landscapes.

Drive into the untouched wilderness of Fiordland and on to Milford and Doubtful Sounds is a trip like no other, where one finds landscapes tough to beat. The most northerly part of Fiordland’s many sounds, Milford, is famed as one of the world’s most spectacular landscapes. Amass with waterfalls cascading directly into the sea from mountains coated with Jurassic rainforest, there is never a time - rain, snow or shine - where the area doesn’t look at its pristine best.

Doubtful Sound is far more remote and scenic than the well-known Milford Sound, It offers a true wilderness experience. To make the most of this we shall be taking an overnight boat through the sounds to be in a prime position on the water to make the most of the sunrise. There is also an option (at an additional cost) to take a flight by helicopter over Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound, again landing in time for the early morning light in a place where only a handful of people have set foot before.


HIGHLIGHTS

  • Iconic Milford Sound
  • Overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound
  • Boat trip on Milford Sound

QUEENSTOWN - QUEENSTOWN (or meet at Te Anau)
  • Doubtful Sound
  • Milford Sound
  • Te Anau
  • Fiordland National Park

ITINERARY

Day 1 - Queenstown - Milford
After departing from Queenstown (or meeting in Te Anau), we take the Milford Highway up the Eglinton Valley. Winding through the mountains; past dark, brooding lakes and mossy beech forests, perched at impossibly steep slopes, we arrive at Milford Sound. Milford Sound is one of the country's most iconic locations, granite peaks soar more than a mile above the dark waters of the fjord. Huge waterfalls tumble down into the sea giving the area a scale and grandeur that has to be seen to be believed. We will end the day shooting sunset over a vista of Fiordland’s dramatic peaks.

Day 2 - Milford Sound - Te Anau
After shooting sunrise over Mitre Peak we will spend the day exploring some more locations along the Milford road that we missed on the way in, before heading back to Te Anau to spend a night. We walk the tranquil shores of Lake Te Anau, the South Island’s largest lake, on an easy path at the start of the Kepler Track. This evening we photograph the sunset over the lake, with a vast array of mountains beyond.

Day 3 – Te Anau - Doubtful Sound
This morning there will be an option for sunrise over Lake Te Anau, or to join an one and a half hour-long flight by helicopter (optional extra) over the Doubtful and Dusky Sounds to photograph atop the mountains that rise above. This extra offers sublime aerial photography opportunities of the mountains in the early morning light. After sunrise, we transfer to Pearl Harbour in Manapouri, to cruise across picturesque Lake Manapouri to West Arm before travelling through the dense rainforest across Wilmot Pass. Once at Deep Cove we board our boat for our time at the beautiful Doubtful Sound. 

Day 4 – Doubtful Sound
Today will be spent cruising the Sound with excellent photo opportunities of waterfalls, rainforest and mountains as we head into a truly untouched part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Area.

Day 5 – Doubtful Sound - Queenstown
Waking up on the boat sheltered in the wilderness of Doubtful Sound, we cruise through some more of the fiord’s most stunning scenery. No matter what the weather, Fiordland is always spectacular. After arriving back to Pearl Harbour, we can drop you off in Te Anau or provide travel back to Queenstown to connect with late afternoon flights.

PRICE INCLUDES

    • 5-days photography tuition from Richard Young

    • 2x night cruise on Doubtful Sound

    • Boat trip on Lake Manapouri

    • 1 nights luxury accommodation at Milford Sound Lodge (all accommodation is twin-share, single upgrade available)

    • 1 nights 4✩ accommodation at Te Anau

    • 2x nights accommodation on Doubtful Sound boat

    • 4x breakfasts

    • 2x 3 course dinner on Doubtful Sound Boat

    • Queenstown pickup/dropoff (or meet at Te Anau)

    • Transport during the tour

    • DOC (National Park) Concession fees

    • Copy of our Pocket Guide to Landscape & Wildlife Photography

    • Donation to our Conservation Fund