Te Anau and Milford Sound
Heading south out of Queenstown, we stopped at Wye Creek Track for a short and steep hike above Lake Wakatipu to a dam and waterfall.
Once we got to the dam, the trail turned into a raised platform attached to a pipe leading to the waterfall. It was an interesting effect, but felt pretty sturdy while we were walking on it.
After our hike we continued on to Te Anau where we were booked on a tour to go see the Glowworm Caves. The tour is run by Real NZ and we all hopped onto a boat for a ride over to the other side of the lake. Once we arrived, we were divided up into small groups to walk through the cave to see the rock features, running water, and glowworms. The last part is a boat ride in total darkness to get as close as possible to the glowworms.
We got back to Te Anau from our tour right at dinner time and the few restaurants in town were packed with people. After a bit of searching, we finally were able to find a table at the Chinese restaurant.
We camped at Henry Creek DOC in Fiordland National Park for two nights. It was about 24 kilometers north of Te Anau on the way to Milford Sound and it’s a very basic campground with just a vault toilet and no running water. Much of the campground was an open gravel lot, although there were a few picnic tables and some wooded areas.
The first night we did not have any major bug issues, I think due to the steady breeze, but the second night we had a ton of mosquitos in our van and sand flies attacked my feet when I got up in the morning. And despite how remote and basic the campground felt, a ranger did come by each morning to make sure everyone had registered and paid for their site.
Te Anau to Milford Sound is approximately 120 kilometers and it is recommended to allow at least 2 hours to drive there plus extra time for parking. We were booked on a 10:30 Milford Sound tour so we had to get up pretty early. The first part of the drive is flat and boring and then all of the sudden it gets very scenic and the road gets windy and steeper as it begins going down to the sound.
We arrived at the end of the road with plenty of time, and we didn’t have an issue finding a parking space, but many people were arriving around 9:30am and the parking lot was filling up quickly. It did take a few minutes to pay for parking since there are not a lot of pay machines available. And then it takes about 10 minutes to walk from the parking area to the boat terminal. We did see other people who did not plan for enough time running for their boats.
I booked the RealNZ Milford Sound tour as it was recommended in the Lonely Planet guide and they had many tour times available.
This was not our boat, but one of the many lined up to take people into the sound.
Our tour went around the entire sound all the way to the Tasman Sea, past waterfalls, and a glacier. There wasn’t a ton of wildlife, but we did see a few seals.
It is a really beautiful and remote place.
On the way back to our campground, we made a few stops including a short walk at the Gertrude Valley and a hike to Lake Marian. The Lake Marian Track is not that long and it’s also very popular, but it is challenging.
The first bit is pretty easy and goes to a nice waterfall. After that the trail goes UP and the footing is challenging and uneven in many spots
However, the lake at the end is very pretty. By the time we returned to the trailhead, the day was pretty much over and it was time to go back to our campsite.
