Exploring Fiordland National Park

We enjoyed a full day exploring Fiordland National Park on the South Island of New Zealand starting with Cascade Creek Campsite.

Camping at Cascade Creek Campsite

It was a chilly evening when we arrived at Cascade Creek Campsite, within the boundary of Fiordland National Park. We quickly set up our tents and enjoyed hot cups of cocoa as the sunset over the mountains. We had no wood, or fire pit, to make a campfire so we all retired into our tents early to keep warm. It was windy and rainy through the night and was thankful for the merino wool hat and gloves I bought in Queenstown earlier that day.

We woke early the following morning and quickly packed our wet tents into the car so we could catch our cruise tour on Milford Sound. Even though we'd already packed up our camp, we returned to the Cascade Creek Campsite after our cruise for a quick picnic lunch.

Driving Through Fiordland National Park

Our drive from Cascade Creek Campsite to Milford Sound and back was cloudy but beautiful. The waterfalls were flowing like nothing I'd ever seen before. There were areas where we were could look in every direction and probably count more than 100 waterfalls.

Cruising Around Milford Sound

We quickly parked our car and hustled along the walkway to the marina where we boarded our tour boat just in time. Our tour guide began by describing the weather as "liquid sunshine" and there was plenty of it. My visit to Milford sound on this trip was significantly different than my visit 6 years ago. Last time we had relatively clear skies and still water with beautiful reflections of the mountains... but few waterfalls. This visit, with its "liquid sunshine", offered endless waterfalls with obscured mountain peaks and no reflections. We learned from our guide that the temporary waterfalls typically run for 48 to 72 hours after a rainstorm. So, chances are that the next few days on Milford sound offered the best of both experiences. But, we didn't have time to find out. When our cruise ended, we piled back in our car and made our way out of Milford Sound to explore other areas of Fiordland National Park.

Visiting The Chasm

After leaving Milford Sound, we stopped for a short hike to The Chasm. Unfortunatley the bridge over The Chasm seemed to be washed out and was closed. But, we enjoyed a beautiful hike with glimpses of the Chasm through the trees.

Visiting Lake Marian

Our next stop was Lake Marian where we crossed a suspension bridge and hiked upstream along Marian Creek. We would have liked to hike all the way to Lake Marian but we still had a lot of driving ahead of us and didn't have enough time. So, we enjoyed our short but beautiful hike along the creek then stopped for our quick picnic lunch at Cascade Creek Campsite.

Visiting Mirror Lakes

Our last stop, before exiting Fiordland National Park, was at Mirror Lakes. It offers a short trek along the boardwak with views of mirror lakes reflecting the mountains beyond. We were fortunate that the weather had cleared enough for us to experience the reflections.

You can view the Wheels Up for New Zealand 2026 trip page to see all my blog posts, photos, and Wanderlog info.