What to do in Te Anau, gateway to the wilds of Fiordland

Sep 2

Te Anau is a small farming town that would be almost totally unremarkable — except for the fact it’s the last town on the road to Milford Sound.

Lake Te Anau reflects snowy mountains in still water that looks like a mirror — *A perfectly still morning at Te Anau Downs*

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission if you book through those links at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support.

No one goes to Te Anau to visit Te Anau.

You go because this small, otherwise unremarkable town is the best entry point for exploring Fiordland National Park — one of New Zealand’s greatest wildernesses.

*Dense, mossy Fiordland forest where you’ll find every shade of green*

Although you can visit the wilds of Fiordland on a day trip from Queenstown, staying in Te Anau means the trip to Milford Sound isn’t as gruelling (two hours versus four hours drive). I would recommend this option every time, provided you have enough space in your itinerary.

Te Anau is also a pretty laid back place. Unpretentious, no frills.

Two small sheds stand on a hill overlooking lake Te Anau

You won’t get the boutique coffee roasters and fine dining you would find in Queenstown, but you can enjoy the sight of locals stomping around in gumboots.

And Te Anau is a base for much more than Milford Sound; there are a whole lot of adventure activities you can do in the national park nearby.

A boat sits on calm water on lake Te Anau

As always with my posts, this isn’t the most comprehensive run down of things to do in Te Anau; these are my selections based on the small businesses I love, the awesome places to eat, and the little things that make a place memorable.

Quick tips for visiting Te Anau and Fiordland

BEST TIME TO GO

Hiking is best in summer (from December to March) but expect rain at any time of year. Ideally you want to pack a raincoat and a cosy fleece even for day hikes in summer.

Don’t worry if you do get rain, though — Fiordland is at her most beautiful when the waterfalls wake up.

PLAN AHEAD

Cell service is limited in Fiordland and on the road to Milford Sound. Check maps in advance or download offline maps.

Te Anau is also the last place to top up on petrol and snacks before heading to Milford Sound, which is a four hour return drive — so make sure you’re fuelled up before heading out of town.

Take insect repellent — this is a great one.

THE BEST MILFORD SOUND TOUR

If you’re looking for a tour to visit Milford Sound from Te Anau, I highly recommend Luxe Tours.

The small company is run by a young family from Te Anau. Their approach is very much about small groups and local guides, with some great sustainability credentials as well. I had a great time with them, and enjoyed the experience much more than travelling on one of the big tour buses.

Check out their Milford Sound trip here >>

My favourite thing to do in Te Anau, and possibly all of New Zealand — go on an overnight cruise to Doubtful Sound

*You probably won’t see a single other boat while in Doubtful*

*The Navigator is a gorgeous ship with an old world feel*

An overnight trip on Doubtful Sound is one of the most spectacular things you can do anywhere in the South Island, or the whole of New Zealand.

It’s one of those experiences that make me fall in love with travelling all over again — where I felt those moments of “oh, this is why.” This is why I save money, take time off work, sleep in dorm rooms far from the comfort of my own home.

I do it for the awe and wonder of the kind I experienced on Doubtful Sound.

Views in every direction on the cruise in doubtful sound

You might not travel for the same things as me, but if you love the feeling of being in wild, remote places far from civilisation, you might like this trip.

THE DETAILS

I travelled with RealNZ and would highly recommend the company and the trip to anyone.

Book your Doubtful Sound overnight cruise well in advance, as it’s not a big boat and spaces fill up quickly.

Te Anau is the ideal base for visiting Milford Sound

You may be wondering why I put Doubtful Sound above Milford Sound; after all, Milford is the star of the show in Fiordland (and New Zealand — it’s one of the most visited places in the country).

The reason is simple. You might even be able to guess it, based on the sheer number of Milford Sound tours available.

Milford Sound gets a staggering number of visitors for such a remote location. What should feel like the end of the earth — two hours drive from the nearest town, on a lonely coast of a tiny island at the bottom of the world — feels more like, well, a busy ferry terminal.

Don’t get me wrong, Milford Sound is beautiful.

The walls are higher than in Doubtful Sounds, the views more dramatic. Nothing can compare to the hulk of Mitre Peak.

But, boats follow each other round the fjord in a steady procession, each one stopping in exactly the same spots, never out of sight of the one before or the one after.

On board, people jostle for space to lean against the railings, or take turns standing at the front of the boat with their arms raised as if in ecstasy, when it’s really for their partner snapping photos behind them.

For me, I have always felt like the beauty of Milford Sound has been overshadowed by its popularity. If you’ve found me because you too enjoy being in nature, avoiding overwhelmingly busy places, and travelling to find a sense of awe, I suspect you may feel the same.

If you still love the idea of going to Milford — and please don’t let me scare you if it’s a dream of yours — then I recommend going with Luxe Tours. They focus on small groups, and take the time to stop along the road into Milford, which for me is the highlight of the trip.

There was a marked difference between travelling on a giant bus into Milford, and travelling with Luxe Tours. A local guide, lots of stops, and morning tea by a river; Luxe Tours made the trip feel as personalised as is possible.

You can drive yourself to Milford, of course, which leads me to the next point.

Explore the road into Milford Sound

A mirror-like lake surrounded by mountains on the Milford Road

The drive in to Milford Sound is fantastic. If you have time, you could easily spend a whole day just touring the road, stopping at the different hikes along the way.

A hiker in a yellow jacket on the Kay Summit Track in Fiordland — *The Key Summit track*

Some of the day walks you can do along the road to Milford Sound:

Key Summit Track is a brilliant walk on a clear day. Around 3 hours return.
Lake Marian Track is a great option if the weather is not as clear — the lake is still beautiful when there is cloud around)
Gertrude Saddle Track is one for the more adventurous and experienced hikers.
The Lake Gunn Nature Walk is a delightful short walk, a lovely stroll through the Fiordland rainforest.

Visit the Two Wee Bookshops in Manapouri

The thing I loved most in Te Anau (aside from all the hikes nearby) was visiting the Two Week Bookshops in Manapouri.

Manapouri is a gorgeous lake 20 minutes from Te Anau. There’s not much there — a small village on the lake, with some walking trails and lovely views.

And Ruth Shaw’s fabulous little bookshops.

The Two Wee Bookshops are so sweet, with a carefully curated selection of books. Including, Ruth’s own memoir; The Bookseller At The End Of The World.

I loved this book, and think it’s a great souvenir to take home with you. Pick up a copy from the bookshop, and there’s a good chance Ruth herself will have signed it.

I read my copy while driving around the South Island and was inspired by her story. It’s a good one.

Go on a day hike of one of the big Great Walks in the area — the Kepler, Routeburn and the Milford Track

A kea perched on a wooden beam on the Kepler walk near Te Anau — *A kea spotted on the Kepler Track*

It takes an impressive amount of planning to get hut bookings on any of the three Great Walks that depart from Te Anau. As in, sit online at the exact date and time the bookings open and smash keys until you have dates locked in, kind of planning.

These are probably the three most popular Great Walks, which are themselves the top 11 trails in the country. Which means Te Anau puts you right in the middle of the creme de la creme of New Zealand hiking.

If you’re not that organised (hello, me neither!) or you just don’t have 3-5 days to spare for a multi day hike, or you don’t have any gear, or sleeping in a room with 50 odd strangers sounds like hell to you, you might be happy to know you can do sections of these trails as day walks.

The Milford Sound track:

Take a water taxi from Te Anau Downs, hike to Clinton hut and back (3.5 hours return) and catch the water taxi back again.

The Kepler track:

Take a water taxi across the Brod Bay, hike up to Luxmore hut for the epic views, then walk down and catch the taxi back.
You can also walk from the Control Gates up to Luxmore, you will just be adding an extra 1.5 hours to your trip each way.

The Routeburn track:

Drive or catch a shuttle to the Divide, and from there you can walk up to Key Summit, Earland Falls, or even Lake Mackenzie if you’re game for a longer walk.

For more information on track transport for these day walks, check out Fiordland Outdoors.

Coffee and art stop

If you’re looking to grab coffee (and a pie) to fuel up for a road trip towards Milford Sound, I highly recommend the Milford Road Merchant.

I stop here every time I’m heading down this road, and it’s becoming something of a ritual. You’ll be standing in line for coffee alongside the local cops, tradies, and others who yarn away while waiting — it feels like a cool community spot.

As well as excellent coffee, the shop stocks a whole range of art and goods from local artists and makers. There is a very good chance you’ll see something in here you like.

Where to eat in Te Anau

I can tell you where not to eat, and that’s The Fat Duck.

Maybe you will have more luck there than me and my friends, but we stopped in for some drinks and hot snacks after a long hike, and were so disappointed in the triple cooked chips (which were soggy, almost devoid of seasoning, and bizarrely served with hot sauce) that we talked about it for the two hour drive back to Queenstown.

Or maybe that is purely our fault for taking big city expectations to a small town.

So, dial back what you want from food. Te Anau is typical of a small New Zealand town, except for the fact that here you can still expect to pay city prices.

The businesses here can afford to be average because there is such a steady flood of people coming into town, many of whom will eat once and then leave and never come back.