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Doubtful Sound is open for business

Media Release

21 May 2013

Doubtful Sound is open for business, that’s the message tourism operator Real Journeys is pushing in light of the NZ Transport Agency’s announcement to close the Milford Road for works for 10-14 working days commencing Thursday 23rd May.

Real Journeys who operate in both Milford and Doubtful Sounds are significantly up-scaling their Doubtful Sound operations to cater for visitors impacted by the road closure.  In addition the company will still operate a “fly/cruise/fly” Milford option.

Chief Executive Richard Lauder says Real Journeys are re-locating the Milford Mariner to Doubtful Sound which will mean they can host up to 400 visitors per day - a decent proportion of the total daily expected visitors to Milford at this time of year. 

“Doubtful Sound is a vast and remote fiord that many of our visitors rate as highly as Milford.  The trip is more than a boat cruise, it’s an experience.  We are delighted to be able to offer our customers such a high quality alternative that is still within the Fiordland National Park,” says Richard.

“This is a great chance for Doubtful Sound to shine as it should in the global tourism market.”

Real Journeys are also up-scaling their Queenstown operations and resources to offer visitors farm and lunch excursions to Walter Peak High Country Farm.

Richard says that with the recent intermittent Milford Road closures the company has become accustomed to adapting its operations to suit customer demands and ensure that there is still plenty to offer visitors.

“Given the scale of our business we are getting very good at re-deploying our resources to cater for our customer’s needs.   We also relish the opportunity to showcase Doubtful Sound as it deserves.

“Whilst the road closures are not ideal from an operational perspective the safety of our customers is paramount and very important for New Zealand tourism as a whole.  We are confident the NZ Transport Agency is doing everything they can as quickly as they can to safely stabilise the road,” says Richard.


For further information contact:

Lenksa Papich - Real Journeys Marketing Communications Manager
Mob: +64 21 523 899
Email: [email protected]