About Milford Road

General Information
History
Milford Road Information Kiosk
Knowing Road Signage

General Information

Times and distances

The journey from Te Anau to Milford Sound and back is 240km (144 miles) long. A non-stop direct one-way drive takes at least two hours depending on weather conditions.

Before setting out

Make sure you have a full tank of fuel before leaving Te Anau as there are no fuel stations until Milford Sound. You can get petrol only at Gunns Camp in Hollyford Valley which is a detour from Milford Road. Otherwise you can get petrol and diesel in Milford Sound, although the service is limited to certain credit cards with pin number access only.

Toilets

Proper flush toilet stops can be found at Knobs Flat, The Divide and Milford Sound.

Telephones

Telephone services are available at Knobs Flat (card phone), Homer Tunnel (satellite phone for emergency use only) and Milford Sound (card phone). There is no cell phone coverage between Te Anau and Milford Sound.

Dump sites for discharging waste

If you are driving a campervan please do not discharge waste in the national park. Use the facilities provided at your camping ground before you depart. However, there are dump sites at Knobs Flat and Milford Sound that you can use.

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History

The men who built the Milford Road and the Homer Tunnel in the 1930s were, for the most part, victims of the Depression and directed to the job by the government. For the men of the road, and those women who followed their men into this wilderness, life was harsh beyond belief, but the road and tunnel had to go through.

The weather could be vicious, the terrain ferocious, high in altitude, steep and rugged, beset by floods and deadly avalanches. Workers were brought face to face with the avalanche hazard. Men were killed; bridge structures, road works and tunnel portals destroyed. The road, which was completed in 1952, consequently was closed during winter months until the late 1970s when tourist and fishing interests successfully lobbied for it to remain open year round.

After a massive avalanche killed a road maintenance supervisor in 1983, a programme was established to monitor, assess and control the avalanche hazard on the Milford Road. The internationally recognised avalanche control programme used today enables the road to remain open with optimum safety to all road users.

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Milford Road Information Kiosk

Transit has an information kiosk 8.5 km north of Te Anau on the way to Milford Sound. The kiosk is open during winter when vehicles travelling the road need to be fitted with chains. This is usually around 20 days a year between June and November.

Kiosk staff provide road users with information on safe driving during winter and check that they are carrying the rights chains and can fit them correctly.

The kiosk has two lanes, with one of them being only for accredited drivers who completed the Bus and Coach Association Programme to improve bus safety on the Milford Road.

Visitors that are not prepared for driving in winter conditions or do not have the right experience can always take a coach from Te Anau instead of driving themselves.

Before you choose a coach, check that they have accredited drivers which means that the drivers have been through training on how to drive on
Milford Road in winter conditions.

While ill-equipped road users can continue to the drive on the road past the kiosk, police could fine them $750 if they decide to drive past warning signs requiring chains further down the Milford Road.

During the first year of operation, Transit along with its contractor Downer EDI Works, will be fine tuning the operation of the kiosk to make sure people find the service useful and can get through the kiosk in a timely fashion.

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Knowing Road Signage

When driving on Milford Road it’s important you know all the road signs. Here are the key ones you should familiarise yourself with if you don’t know them already.

Make sure you keep left when driving on Milford Road and take extra care when pulling out of rest or scenic sights stops.

Check road condition information signs to see whether the road is open and what the conditions are. The signs are located in Te Anau (1km north of township), Knobs Flat (65 km north of Te Anau) and Milford Sound (5 km east of Milford Sound). When a LOW avalanche hazard is posted, the road is open. When a MODERATE avalanche hazard is posted there is a risk of avalanches reaching the road and the road could be closed at short notice. When a HIGH avalanche hazard is posted the road is closed.

This sign is posted at the beginning and end of the avalanche area. When driving through this area make sure you stop only in one of the two signposted safe stopping areas (The Chasm and Monkey Creek).

These signs are posted near the most active avalanche paths. Make sure you obey them and do not stop in the avalanche area.

These signs mark the last safe stopping place to fit chains before road conditions become too dangerous for vehicles without chains.

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