Things to do in Te Anau

Te Anau sits on the shore of the South Island's largest lake, roughly 2,000 residents strong and 170 km (2 h) south-west of Queenstown by road. It is the working base for Fiordland: the DOC visitor centre issues Great Walk passes for the Kepler, Milford and Hollyford tracks, and the town is the last real stop before the 120 km run to Milford Sound.

Basing here instead of Queenstown removes about 4 hours of driving from a Milford day, since Milford itself is only 2 h away rather than 4. Te Anau Glowworm Caves tours run several times daily by boat across the lake, roughly NZD 105-115 per adult for around 2 hours.

Evenings are quiet compared with Queenstown, and July-August daylight runs to about 9 hours.