Our Favourite Fresh Air and Water Stops on the Milford Road
- Alice Neilson - Fiordland Enthusiast & Writer
- Jun 22
- 7 min read
In Fiordland, clean air and clean water are part of everyday life. Along the road to Milford Sound, the landscape is made up of mountains, native forest, rivers, and waterfalls, with no towns, industry, or development for long stretches of the journey.
The air is exceptionally clean, and in several locations the water is pure enough to drink straight from the river or stream.
In this guide, we share some of our favourite spots along the Milford Road where you can experience the fresh air and clean water for yourself.
Key Takeaways
The Milford Road passes through some of the cleanest air and water environments in the world, with no major towns or industry along the way.
In several spots, the water is pure enough to drink straight from the river, stream, or creek.
Te Anau's tap water comes straight from Lake Te Anau, and Milford Sound's town water supply comes from Lady Bowen Falls.
The water and surrounding environment are protected as part of Fiordland National Park, and hold deep significance in te ao Māori (the Māori worldview).
Whether you'll get to experience each spot depends on how you're travelling, so we've included a quick guide for each one.
Te Anau
Te Anau is the closest town to Milford Sound. Despite being the main base for visiting Fiordland National Park, it's still a small town surrounded by natural views in every direction. With no large population centres or industry nearby, the air and water stay fresh and clean.
Te Anau's town water supply comes straight from Lake Te Anau, so if you pour yourself a glass of water from the tap during your stay, you're drinking water sourced directly from one of New Zealand’s cleanest lakes.
How You're Travelling | Access |
Self-driving | ✓ |
Luxe tour from Te Anau | ✓ |
Luxe tour from Queenstown | ✓ |
The Eglinton River by Knobs Flat
A little way along the Milford Road, the Eglinton River runs through a wide, open valley. It's a peaceful spot by the riverside, surrounded by mountains and the golden tussock grasslands that make the Eglinton Valley so distinctive.
This is where we stop for morning tea on a Luxe tour from Te Anau.
The purity here is in the scenery and the air, but the river itself is also drinkable. When the river is at a normal level and running clear (rather than just after heavy rain or a flood), it's safe to drink.
If you'd like to sample the river water, it's best to do so with a guide who can assess the conditions on the day.
How You're Travelling | Access |
Self-driving | ? |
Luxe tour from Te Anau | ✓ |
Luxe tour from Queenstown | ✗ |
For self-drivers, it depends. The spot is there to enjoy, but you'll need to find it and judge the river conditions yourself.
Christie Falls
Christie Falls is a waterfall tumbling down beside the Hollyford River, framed by native forest and steep valley walls. You can pull off to the right as you're heading toward Milford Sound, where there's a parking area, then walk along to see the river and the falls.
If you'd like to fill up your water bottle here, you can climb down the rocks to the river's edge. Just take care near the water, as the river moves quickly at this point.
How You're Travelling | Access |
Self-driving | ✓ |
Luxe tour from Te Anau | ✓ |
Luxe tour from Queenstown | ✓ |
Monkey Creek
Monkey Creek is a simple roadside stop, but it captures much of what makes Fiordland special: mountains, fresh air, and crystal-clear water. All around you are mountains, with clear water running through the creek and crisp, clean air filling your lungs. In winter, with snow on the peaks and a chill in the air, it's especially striking.
You can drink the water straight from the creek here. The water comes mostly from glacial melt and is naturally filtered through the surrounding vegetation, gravel, and stones, which makes it exceptionally clean.
Because there's no livestock or urban development anywhere in the catchment, waterborne illnesses like giardia aren't a concern, so you can safely drink from the creek.
How You're Travelling | Access |
Self-driving | ✓ |
Luxe tour from Te Anau | ✓ |
Luxe tour from Queenstown | ✓ |
Sinks Creek
Sinks Creek is around 3 to 4km past Monkey Creek, and is easy to miss if you don’t know where to stop. Here you're standing directly beneath the mountains, beside a turquoise pool of water fed by waterfalls coming down from above.
It's a beautiful little spot that many visitors drive straight past without realising it's there.
If you're lucky, you might spot whio (blue duck) here. Whio need clean, fast-flowing water to thrive, so seeing them is a good sign of just how pure the water is.
On a Luxe tour, we sometimes stop here instead of Monkey Creek, if Monkey Creek is particularly busy, so guests can still enjoy the pure drinkable water and fresh air without the crowds.
During a dry spell, the waterfalls stop running, and the pool disappears, so we don't stop here when that's the case.
How You're Travelling | Access |
Self-driving | ✗ |
Luxe tour from Te Anau | ? |
Luxe tour from Queenstown | ? |
Sinks Creek is very hard to spot if you're unfamiliar with the area, so most self-drivers miss it. On a tour, whether we stop depends on the day and the conditions.
Cleddau Valley Lookout
The Cleddau Valley is one of the last stretches before you reach Milford Sound. Here, towering mountains rise on either side of the valley, with the road winding down through native rainforest below.
This spot is a chance to breathe in the fresh mountain air and take in the scale of the landscape before arriving at your destination.
How You’re Travelling | Access |
Self-driving | ✓ |
Luxe tour from Te Anau | ✓ |
Luxe tour from Queenstown | ✓ |
Common Questions About Fiordland’s Water
Why Don't We Bottle the Water if It's So Pure?
The water is part of Fiordland National Park, and everything within the park is protected and preserved.
National park status means the natural environment can't be commercially extracted or altered. The water, the forest, and the wildlife are all left as they are, which is exactly what keeps the area so pure in the first place.
There's also a deeper cultural significance to the water. In te ao Māori (the Māori world view), water is a taonga (sacred treasure) and is meant to be shared, not commodified or sold for profit.
The water is understood to have its own life force (mauri) when kept in its natural state. Māori generally view the commercial extraction and export of water as a violation of kaitiakitanga (stewardship) and a threat to the mauri (life force) of the water.
What Is Tiaki, and the Tiaki Promise?
Tiaki means to care for people and place. The Tiaki Promise is a commitment shared across New Zealand tourism to look after the country while travelling through it, protecting nature, keeping it clean, and treading lightly so it remains for future generations.
At Luxe, we put this into practice in a few ways. We donate to the Kea Conservation Trust and partner with Trees for Survival to plant native trees. We also use compostable items and reusable drink bottles on tour, and our guides share the stories and significance of the area so guests leave with a deeper understanding of the place they've visited.
Why Are There No Rubbish Bins in the Park?
You might notice there are no rubbish bins along most of the Milford Road. This is intentional. Visitors are asked to take all their rubbish with them and dispose of it once they're back in town.
Keeping bins out of the park (with the main exception being the facilities at Knobs Flat) means rubbish doesn't overflow or blow around the landscape, which can happen when bins fill up faster than they're emptied in remote areas.
Taking your rubbish with you is one of the simplest ways visitors can help protect the area.
Where Does Milford Sound's Water Come From?
Just as Te Anau's water comes from Lake Te Anau, the township at Milford Sound gets its water supply from Lady Bowen Falls. So if you're on a cruise and enjoy a glass of water on board, you're drinking water that came straight from one of the waterfalls you’ll see on the cruise.
"When we go on hikes in the National Park, we don't take our own water with us. We just take an empty bottle or cup and drink from the rivers, streams, and waterfalls along the way. We never get sick, because the water really is that clean."
- Katelyn Pascoe, Guest Experience Manager at Luxe Tours
How to Make the Most of These Stops
The best way to take in these places is to slow down and really be present in them. At each stop, snap your photo, and then put your phone or camera away. Stand still for a few minutes, breathe in the fresh air, listen to the water, and simply absorb your surroundings.
A few other things to keep in mind:
Only drink from rivers and creeks when the water is at a normal level and running clear.
Take care near the water's edge, especially where the current is fast.
Take all your rubbish with you and leave each spot exactly as you found it.
Give any wildlife you see, such as whio and kea, plenty of space and never feed them.
Fiordland's clean air and crystal-clear water are a big part of what makes travelling the Milford Road such a special experience.
Whether you're filling a water bottle at Monkey Creek or breathing in the mountain air in Cleddau Valley, these places offer a chance to connect with a landscape that remains largely untouched.
Taking a moment to appreciate them. and helping look after them while you're there. helps ensure they can be enjoyed by future visitors too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is New Zealand's air so clean?
New Zealand's air quality is among the best in the world due to its remote location, small population, low levels of heavy industry in many of the towns, and the clean ocean winds that sweep across the country. Fiordland in particular benefits from having no major towns or industry nearby, so the air stays exceptionally fresh.
Why are there so few buildings along the Milford Road?
Most of the Milford Road passes through Fiordland National Park, where development is tightly controlled to protect the natural environment. This helps preserve the remote character of the landscape and the clean air and water that visitors experience today.
Why is Fiordland's water so clear?
Much of Fiordland's water comes from rainfall, snowmelt, and alpine sources flowing through largely untouched catchments. With very little development and extensive native forest filtering the water, there are little to no pollutants and sediments commonly found in more developed areas.
