The Milford Road section began in 1926 when a local Station Owner, started making his own road from Te Anau Downs Harbour south to the Te Anau Hotel, starting a project which turned into the most scenic highway in New Zealand including iconic landmarks the Mirror Lakes, the Avenue of Disappearing Mountain, Lake Gunn, the Key Summit, Mount Christina, Mount Talbot, the Homer Tunnel, The Chasm, Mount Tutoko and Mitre Peak. Before the sealing of the road in the 1980s it was treated as a day's adventure from the township of Te Anau and Milford Sound the climax of the journey. Modern marketing and faster buses have made Milford Sound a destination from Queenstown involving 8 hours of bus transit, a round trip with few stops.