| Queenstown |
Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Mon July 11, 2011 02:38 AM UTC
What do you mean by LOTR? Do you mean Lord of the Rings movieset locations and do you mean specifically in the South Island?
Winter is winter, no guarantee of snow or visability until the day you are there.
Milford Sound and the LOTR locations are visitable during winter but of course there is a higher risk of cancellation due to weather. That makes it quite hard to plan/book, so you have to be a bit flexible.
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| Queenstown |
Re: Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Mon July 11, 2011 02:59 AM UTC
Hi Kiwi,
Thanks for the quick reply.
Yes, LOTR = Lord of the Rings locations.
Then I presume it is better to book the day tour when I'm in Queenstown?
Thanks!
Nora
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| Queenstown |
Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Mon July 11, 2011 03:05 AM UTC
I don't know how popular these tours are, but I'm sure the company has weather plans as they must deal with this all the time. Maybe you can book before you come but first check what their cancellation policy is, ie do they fully refund etc.
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| Queenstown |
Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Mon July 11, 2011 03:07 AM UTC
Oh I meant to say, next week is first week of school holidays, so that may make things a little bit more busy than normal. Worth considering anyway.
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| Queenstown |
Re: Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Mon July 11, 2011 05:33 AM UTC
I went to Milford in the middle of winter (August). There was not a flake of snow on the ground, only in the higher alpine.
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| Queenstown |
Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Mon July 11, 2011 05:57 AM UTC
It's hit and miss. You got no snow, the next person can get snowed it.
That's how New Zealand is. No one can predict and no one can advise either way :-)
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| Queenstown |
Re: Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Mon July 11, 2011 06:03 AM UTC
Your right, no one can predict the weather. It could equally snow in Auckland. But with average temperature above freezing, getting snowed in would be very bad luck and against the odds.
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| Queenstown |
Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Mon July 11, 2011 06:14 AM UTC
Well I think it happens more than you indicate actually. Of course there are many days when you can visit, but also ice and snow do close the road during winter. The issue is that you don't drive in and out of Milford sound at lunch time. We often hear about tourists who don't heed warnings and then get into trouble with their campervan on this very road.
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| Queenstown |
Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Mon July 11, 2011 06:18 AM UTC
Mentioning snow in Auckland is ludicrous in this discussion. The Milford Road is far more likely to have snow and ice than Auckland.
At the moment we are having weather bombs attack from Antarctica, and if the member is visiting next week, the effect of these will still be felt.
But last week we were having almost a mild winter.
That's how fast it can change down here.
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| Queenstown |
Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Mon July 11, 2011 08:13 PM UTC
At the moment there is snow on the Milford Road, and chains are required on all vehicles. Depending on what happens today will depend on whether or not the road will close. Chains make the drive very slow, and given that this is a long drive to get there, this chews into time normally spent viewing the Sounds.
Hopefully it will be clear and not worse, next week for Nora.
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| Queenstown |
Re: Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Mon July 11, 2011 09:22 PM UTC
The alpine regions of the South Island (and the Central Plateau in the North Island) have had massive snowfall in the past few days. Pass roads were closed (Arthur's Pass, Lewis Pass, Lindis Pass, Crown Range and the Milford Road). Yesterday you would surely not have got anywhere.
For the Milford Road you can check the road status here:
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/milfordroad/RoadStatus.do
With Milford Sound and a Lord of the Rings tours in the Queenstown region you have to plan on a day to day basis. One day it's fine, the next day impossible. Surely the LoR tours do not depart on days with snowfall and icy roads. In the Queenstown region they have two major tours, one around Queenstown/Arrowtown (which includes a drive into Skippers Canyon which is dangerous to drive even in good conditions), the other one in the Glenorchy area (with a drive on a potentially slippery and icy road along Lake Wakatipu). This can surely be done only in good weather and road conditions.
If a tour has to be cancelled due to weather and/or road conditions you are fully refunded.
If you have trouble to get around by car you can take the train from Christchurch to Greymouth and rent a car there. Travelling on the West Coast in winter is no problem. The problem that could arise later is the drive from Wanaka to Queenstown. Rule of thumb is to avoid the Crown Range route when it is snowing and take the longer alternative route along Lake Dunstan.
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| Queenstown |
P.S. Posted: Mon July 11, 2011 09:31 PM UTC
I can highly recommend Nomad Safaris for the LoR tours in Queenstown.
Once it stops snowing (or raining) there should not be visibility issues. In fact, the landscape in picture-perfect on crisp winter days.
At Milford Sound my favourite cruise company is Mitre Peak cruises (for daytime cruises). You just have to get to the fiord in first place ;-))
Never set out without snow chains, and as said earlier, always check the status of the Milford Road and also other roads, go to DoC office and/or tourist info (i-site).
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/traffic/
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/traffic/current-conditions/highway-info/index.html
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/milfordroad/RoadStatus.do
Check the weather on:
www.metservice.co.nz ("rural")
Always have plenty of water and some food in the car, just for the case you get stuck.
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| Queenstown |
Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Tue July 12, 2011 12:05 AM UTC
Update: Milford Road closed until Saturday, possibly longer.
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| Queenstown |
Re: Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Tue July 12, 2011 10:19 AM UTC
Not sure if it helps but this link from today's NZ Herald advising of closures may be of interest. The Milford Road as already stated is closed by snow but the Milford Sound Discovery Centre is also out of action:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10738064&ref=rss
Incidentally, the news item also contains links concerning the current severe weather the South Island is experiencing. These types of scenarios happen to some extent or another each winter (whereas it hasn't actually snowed in Auckland in decades although they do get the occasional light frost). Kakapo makes an excellent point though that in clear weather, winter can be an excellent time to visit the sounds, with the waterfalls at their best and the visibility sharp. But do be aware that severe winter weather in that part of the world is a definite possibility.
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| Queenstown |
Re: Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Wed July 13, 2011 04:08 PM UTC
Thanks for all your kind feedback.
Seems like the chance of me going on the Milford Sound tour is very slim.
There's alot of snow in Queenstown this week so would presume it will continue to snow for the next coming weeks. Assuming that will cause the road closure to Milford Road. :(
Anyway I managed to book LOTR tour and will have to skip Milford Sound this time.
Thanks all! Cant wait for the adventure in Queenstown!
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| Queenstown |
Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Wed July 13, 2011 08:09 PM UTC
Our weather changes so quickly, we wanted you to know the chance of road closure is very real. However by the time you arrive all may be ok. As kakapo said, after bad weather often the days are very clear, so I would advise looking into it when you arrive. It's a long trip so obviously you don't want to go unless the weather is clear.
Enjoy your stay in Queenstown, my favourite place :-)
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| Queenstown |
Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Sun July 24, 2011 06:14 AM UTC
ROAD CLOSED - Region suffers heaviest snow fall in over a decade!!
Welcome to New Zealand :-)
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| Queenstown |
Re: Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Mon July 25, 2011 03:34 AM UTC
Thanks Kiwi!
We were so blessed with such good weather in NZ last week & did make it to Milford Sound on Thursday.
Just saw the news on the heavy snow today.. Hope the sun will come out soon.. :)
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| Queenstown |
Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Mon July 25, 2011 12:25 PM UTC
Fantastic! And as Kakapo said, this so often happens after a bad spell, that you can be lucky and get a clear day.
Right now the South Island is being blasted by very cold weather and a lot of snow. But in a few days, the roads could open with gorgeous clear skies. That is the way it is down here, very changeable. Unlike Auckland where although changeable it is less extreme.
Did you do any LOTR locations?
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| Queenstown |
Re: Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Mon July 25, 2011 02:59 PM UTC
Yes I did!
The view were as per the movie although the area of the movie locations are not that big...
I feel that you can visit the locations on your own if you are driving...
there's no need to sign for a day tour... :p
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| Queenstown |
Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Mon July 25, 2011 08:56 PM UTC
Yes, that's correct, but some locations are not easily accessible privately. But many are. And the Guidebook is amazing. The LocationGuidebook is a great souvenir even aside from the movie. Did you buy one?
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| Queenstown |
Re: Milford Sound/LOTR in Winter Posted: Wed July 27, 2011 11:18 AM UTC
Oh darn.. Nope, I did not buy one :(
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