SH94 Milford Road. Fiordland. New Zealand.
S 44° 45.875 E 167° 59.350
58G E 736555 N 5038853
Milford Road on SH94 provides the only road access to one of New Zealand’s major tourist attractions – Milford Sound. It is also one of the highest highways in New Zealand, with the highest point of the road reaching 940 metres above sea level.
Waymark Code: WM6BBA
Location: South Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 05/07/2009
Views: 20
Climbing through the Southern Alps, State Highway 94 is one of the highest and most scenic state highways in New Zealand. The highest part of the road is at 940 metres above sea level. The Milford Road, part of SH94, takes you from Te Anau through Fiordland National Park to the major tourist gateway - Milford Sound.
Over one million people visit Fiordland every year and Milford Sound is one of their favourite destinations.
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.
If you drive without stopping it takes at least two hours to get from Te Anau to Milford Sound (120 km) and six to seven hours from Queenstown to Milford Sound (300km). 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.
The given co-ordinates are the entrance to the Homer Tunnel on the Milford Road.
Click here for Milford Road Information printable version.