We decided to stay in Te Anau for 4 days -best decision ever! It was so quiet and scenic! It is the closest town to Milford Sound (1.5 hrs away) where you can get reasonable hotels. (Milford sound only has one super expensive and small lodge and $$$ overnight cruises).
One day, YW hiked Kepler Track (what NZ people call trails). AB got sick, so couldn't join. :( I took the 8:30am Kepler ferry to Brod bay for $25 nzd. I arrived at Brod Bay at 8:45am. At 9:45, Kepler limestone walk. At 10:45am, I reached Luxmore Hut.
At noon, I reached the Luxmore Mt Summit, which was super windy!
At 12:30p, it was drizzling and super windy. I turned around close to Forest Burn Shelter.
At 1:50pm, I got back to the Luxmore hut, and had a 15 min sandwich lunch in hut. It has a bathroom, water and stove. To stay, you must book months in advance. At 2:30pm, I reached the tree line, and at limestone rock walk at 2:45p. At 4pm, I returned to Brod Bay. Pace: fast.
The 4:30pm Kepler ferry back to Te Anau had too many people, so ferry took 15 people, then came back for rest at 5pm.
Ate at Ristorante Pizzaria Paradisio: seafood pasta (good, but not tender and needed salt), gnocchi (kinda sour, meh). Had kiwi pavlova ice cream at The Anau Dairy
The next day, we rose early at 6am for our Milford Sound boat tour (Juicy cruise). We saw a tui bird. The drive from Te Anau is about 2 hours (1-way). The drive is quite scenic.
While waiting to go through a one way tunnel, we saw the kaka bird (NZ 🦜 parrot)
It was hard to find parking in free car park at Deep water basin parking lot (otherwise other parking lot is $10/hr), need to arrive super early.
Fiordland has 14 Sounds. Mitre peak is1,623m. Hanging valley is "U" shaped. Deepest area.
Sterling falls and Bridal veil falls. There were 2 other falls that we got close to.
Palisade falls: 5 Palisades bc 5 glacial periods through Milford Sound.
Seal rock: many adolescent seals rest there.
Our cruise ship literally have us a "glacial facial." The captain drove under Sterling falls and drenched everyone on deck. Story goes, if you get this glacial water on your face, you get 10 years younger.
Bowen falls: the local hotel gets water from here.
At Milford Sound, it rains more than 200 days/year mostly in spring; wettest place in the world. So we we're fortunate to get such a clear beautiful day!
Fiords are mountains carved out by glacier and filled with sea water. Top 10m of it is freshwater, then below that's is the heavier salt water. It's a fragile environment because of the limited movement of marine life. A lot of debris was dumped by glacier. Top freshwater layer filters out light. Below 40m, there is limited life because it's too dark. Sea perch normally live at 600m deep live in the ocean but at Milford Sound, lives at 35m deep!
Milford shorewalk: short and sweet. Totally worth it but be aware of the sandflies that bite.
There were many other trails in the Te Anau/Milford Sound region, of various lengths. Such as the Gertrude saddle lookout: I wish I had more time to hike this but it was too snowy anyways.
Lake Marion trailhead. 20 min Gantry lookout of Hollyford River. We didn't do 3 hr hard hike to Lake Marion
Pops view (see where lake Marion should be). Knobs flat: good view
Mirror lake 5min stroll: many ducks. Eglinton valley failed jumping pic:
Eat at Bao Now: fish and beef cheek: yum!
One day, we did the Routeburn Key Summit hike: At 10:10am, we started at the divide parking lot. So sad we didn't go yesterday when the weather was beautiful! The day we actually went was too rainy and foggy to see anything.
At noon, we reached the top (super slow pace). YW did a 30 min nature walk and look out: too foggy to see anything, but interesting plants and moss. It took 30-45 min to go down.
Long time ago, used to be glacier 500m above the top of the summit!! There is an area called the Divide because when glacier reached the Divide, it split into 3: one to ocean, one to Eglinton valley, and one to Hollyford.
Lake Gun Nature Walk: many plaques about plants, animals and used in Moari culture. Eg fern, edible plant, galls (knobs) on trees. Eg lancewood: used for weapon/shelter.
Fiordland Visitor center in Te Anau: only 60 kakapo birds survived -large flightless parrot. Transported to island without predators. Before there were many Takahe (flightless rail), then in 19th century only 4 sightings of bird, thought extinct, then found 7 in eastern Murehison Mtns, 1986 up to 181 birds with help of nitrogen fertilizer enriching tussock, preferred food. Deer compete for food.
Wildlife bird sanctuary: saw takehe, kaka, baby kaka, baby diving duck, paradise shelduck
Olive cafe: delicious meal: Nz roasted lamb, Skippers chicken (chicken with salmon, squid, shrimp)
Some price comparisons of cruises and zoos:
Mitre cruise: $40
Real journeys:
Bookme: 8:45 $56, 3p $81
Jucy to Tasman: bookme: $42, 75, 79, 45, 9am 2hr, rest 1.5, Website: 50, 78, 89, 70
Premiumbookme: 11;30p 59, 3:30p 55
Ecotour: $45 11 or 3p
Go Orange: 9a $59, 12:30p: 95, 3p: 85
Bookme: $49, 79, 69
Kayak 4-5hr: $159
Scenic Pacific: $199
Get your guide 1.75h: 9, 11:30: $55 (bf), 10:30am: $89, 3:15: $75
Milford Sound Encounter Nature Cruise
More from Southern Discoveries $80, 75 : small boat, 2.25h
Whittaker's hokey pokey $6 pack 180g
Kiwi chocolate 8.99 120g
Orana wildlife: $36
Willowbank wildlife reserve: $32
Queenstown kiwi: $55
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