Milford Sound is an inlet in the south west of New Zealand South Island, within Fiordland National Park and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top tourist travel attraction in an international survey, and New Zealand most famous tourist destination. Rudyard Kipling had previously called it the eighth Wonder of the World. Milford Sound is named after Milford Haven in Wales, while the Cleddau River which flows into the sound is also named for its Welsh namesake.
The beauty of this landscape draws thousands of visitors each day, with over 550,000 in total per year. This makes the sound one of New Zealand's most-visited tourist spots, and also the most famous New Zealand tourist destination, even with its remote location and the long journey from the nearest population centres. Almost all tourists going to the sound also take one of the boat tours which usually last between 1–2 hours. They are offered by several companies, departing from the Milford Sound Visitors' Centre. There is also the option of extended overnight cruises on Milford Sound.
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Milford Sound is 295 km from Queenstown and 279 km from Invercargill which is four hours drive with most of the tour buses to the sound departing from Queenstown. Some tourists also arrive from the smaller tourism centre of Te Anau, 121 km away. There are also scenic flights by light aircraft and helicopter tours to and from Milford Sound Airport. The winding mountain road, while of high standards, is very prone to avalanches and closures during the winter. Today many shortcuts to Milford Sound from Queenstown have been mooted, including a gondola route, a new tunnel from Queenstown, or a monorail from near Lake Wakatipu to Te Anau Downs. All would reduce the current round-trip duration thus allowing tourism to be spread out over more of the day.
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