Great Walks Discovery - Milford Sound & Doubtful Sound Cruises 5D4N, Fully Guided

For the first day of your trip, your guide meets you in Queenstown and head to Lake Manapouri where our journey into Doubtful Sound begins.

You’ll board a boat for the cruise across Lake Manapouri, before a drive over Wilmot Pass to Deep Cove where you’ll board the Fiordland Navigator for our overnight cruise.

Doubtful Sound is a large and remote wilderness area, where you’ll have the opportunity to take a kayak out on the water or hop aboard the tender craft for a guided exploration of the fiord, and in the right season, you may catch a glimpse of the rare Fiordland crested penguin.

Tonight, you’ll sleep in a quad share room aboard the Fiordland Navigator, though there is the option to upgrade to a private ensuite room if you prefer. Additional cost applies.

Hiking Distance: 3.4 kilometres (2 miles), 3-4 hours; Elevation Gain: 380 metres (1,246 feet); Elevation Loss: 380 metres (1,246 feet)

You’ll wake in the middle of Doubtful Sound and after breakfast. You'll retrace our journey back to Manapouri. From there your guide will take to the Divide, where you'll hike part of the Routeburn Track, the first of the Great Walks you’ll experience.

You hike through beech forest, subalpine shrubland and picturesque alpine tarns, before reaching Key Summit.

Here you’ll be standing at the head of three different valleys (the Hollyford, Eglinton and Greenstone), with stunning views over the Great Divide, which separates west and east flowing rivers.

Take a short drive through the Homer Tunnel and emerge at the top of a spectacular glacier-carved valley for a memorable descent to the shore of Milford Sound (actually it’s a fiord).

Rudyard Kipling rated Milford the eighth natural wonder of the world and it’s truly breath-taking, with steep granite walls plunging over a thousand metres to the Tasman Sea and waterfalls cascading into deep inky water.

Enjoy 2-course dinner.

Hiking Distance: 10 kilometres (6 miles), 3-4 hours; Elevation Gain: 300 metres (985 feet); Elevation Loss: 300 metres (985 feet).

Get up early to take a photo of Mitre Peak, quite possibly the most photographed mountain in New Zealand. After breakfast, experience a guided walk from Sandfly Point to the Giant Gate Waterfall on the world famous Milford Track. Departing from Milford Sound begin with a short boat ride to Sandfly Point. An easy 10km (6 miles) walk alongside the cascading Arthur River and moody Lake Ada, on a well maintained track through ancient temperate rainforest surrounded by an array of ferns, mosses and lichens in vibrant shades of green leads to Giant Gate Waterfall. An expansive swing bridge provides perfect photo opportunities. A forest of ancient trees, vibrant ferns and mosses, and diverse birdlife - unequalled anywhere.

Once we return to the Milford wharf, we’ll board a boat for a two hour nature cruise to the head of this spectacular fiord. You will have excellent viewing opportunities including the geological drama of sheer cliffs, massive waterfalls, glaciers and rainforest.

We’ll then leave Milford Sound behind to hike some lesser-known tracks in eastern Fiordland before returning to Te Anau.

Hiking Distance: 9.5 kilometres (6 miles), 2-3 hours; Elevation Gain: 50 metres (165 feet); Elevation Loss: 50 metres (165 feet).

This morning we’re heading for a Department of Conservation birdlife park in Te Anau. The centre takes care of injured or ageing birds which would struggle to survive in the wild - it’s a great opportunity to see some of our rarest birds up close, so don’t forget your camera!

Afterwards, you’ll tick off your third Great Walk in three days - the Kepler Track. Interestingly, the Kepler Track differs from the Routeburn and Milford Tracks in that it didn’t actually evolve from a necessary Maori greenstone trail, but was custom built for hiking. The section we’ll hike today passes over the control gates at the outlet of Lake Te Anau and meanders through ancient beech and podocarp forest.

Ben Lomond Hiking Distance (From the gondola): 8 kilometres (5 miles), 4-5 hours; Elevation Gain: 978 metres (3,208 feet); Elevation Loss: 978 metres (3,208 feet).

Drive back along the shores of Lake Wakatipu to Queenstown, and take a ride on the gondola to the top of a tree-covered rocky crag, known as Bob’s Peak, to start our alpine hike.

At about 800m altitude, you'll hike in alpine tussocks and shrubs. After a demanding climb to the Ben Lomond Saddle (1326m), on clear days you'll be rewarded with spectacular views of magnificent lakes and mountains.

For a keen hiker, you have the option of taking on a challenge and climbing towards the top of Ben Lomond. The track gets steeper and rougher as it approaches Ben Lomond's 1,748m summit. The views from the Summit is exceptional. You can spot Mount Earnslaw/Pikirakatahi and Aspiring/Tititea.

You'll be transferred back to your Queenstown Airport or any where in central Queenstown at about 5pm.