Te Anau Things to Do

Located close to the Milford Sound road, is Mirror lake. It is only a short, 5 min walk.

It was very disappointing when we were there, as they had allowed too many high Trees and shrubbery to grow, so the good reflections that I had seen from other people's visits were not there!

I do hope they clear it a little, as you should get outstanding reflective views of the Earl Mountains.
Waterfowl and wetland plants can be seen against a backdrop of beech forest.

THE cruise we did was at 10am, with Red Boat cruises.

Milford Sound Red Boat Cruises depart daily from the Milford Wharf Visitor Centre.

Firstly, we travelled down the south side of the Fjord, passing our 1st point of interest, which was Sinbad Gully which is an excellent example of a hanging valley. Sinbad Gully is enclosed by the steep slopes of Mt Phillips rising 1,445 metres on its left, Mitre Peak on its right and the Llawrenny Peaks in the background.

Mitre Peak [1,682metres]was a little further down, and is one of the highest mountains in the world to rise directly from the ocean floor. It was too foggy for us to see this famous Peak! Then came Fairy falls, which is a temporary waterfall that dries up quickly, it was running at its best in the rain!

At Anita bay, close to the Tasman sea, this is where we headed across to the other side and to Dale point which is the entrance to Milford Sound.
Stirling Falls drop 155 metres, and is one of the two permanent waterfalls in the fjord, these were really spectacular after the very heavy rain we had received overnight.

Unfortunately, we didn't see any Southern Fur seals at Seal Point, wasn't the kind of day for sunbaking on the rocks, the Sun was not to be found! We stopped at the Underwater Observatory, and then headed back
We did see about 100 waterfalls, but we could not see a lot of the Peaks because of the Fog.

All the way a full commentary on the natural history and of what you are looking at is given. There's also a wide selection of food available on board.

This is a MUST DO when in the South Island of New Zealand.

The cruise lasts for 1 hour 45 mins

PRICE FOR WHAT WE DID ...2010...Cruise.....$65 Adults $15 child
Underwater Observatory......2010 an extra...$29 Adults $15 child

The Cruise we did of Milford Sound, was by "Red Boat" and it included the Observatory. We decided to have a look, as it would be different to what we had seen else where in the World.

It is located in Harrison's Cove, beneath Pembroke Glacier, amongst towering mountains of Fiordland National Park.

First of all, you head to the visitor reception hall for a welcome and interpretation of the geology and ecology of the region.
Next, we descended into the large, fully air conditioned, undersea viewing area, which features large, clear windows for plenty of viewing. We descended the equivalent of a four storied building, leading down beneath the fjord.

It was different.....You can see black coral feeding in front of the windows – all being inspected by a variety of fish. We didn't see an octopus, but we did see a seal chasing after a fish.
The black and red coral that are usually at depths of than forty metres are a rare species. Other sights were anemones, sponges, sea stars, horse mussels and fish.

The Fjord contains a unique and beautiful underwater environment, there is nowhere else like it in the world and it was one that we both quite enjoyed seeing!

To get to MILFORD SOUND, you have to pass through the fairly famous Homer Tunnel.
Before this tunnel opened in 1954, there was no road to fiordland.

The HOMER TUNNEL has been improved greatly over the years.
The tunnel is straight, and was originally single-lane and gravel-surfaced. The tunnel walls remain unlined granite.
Until it was sealed and enlarged it was the longest gravel-surfaced tunnel in the world.

An advancement was when roof lighting was fitted and traffic lights reintroduced in 2004 to reduce capacity constraints and safety issues.
Although the tunnel is large enough for a bus and a smaller vehicle to pass, meetings involving two coaches or campervans are not the best. We went through in our Campervan, and were quite happy that on both occasions, we did not meet another vehicle.

The traffic lights operate only during the peak summer season, since the avalanche risk makes it unsafe to stop and queue at the portals in winter and spring. A widening of the tunnel, to allow for true two-laning may be happening in the future.

Our drive to Milford Sound was on a beautiful sunny day.

Milford Sound [world heritage status] is approx 120km from Te Anau.

The scenery is beautiful, there is much to see, like Mirror Lakes, The Avenue of the Disappearing Mountain, the mountain appears to shrink while you are driving toward it!, dense forests and small lakes.
You pass through the Homer Tunnel which was started in 1935 and not open to traffic until 1954 it is 1200m long. After leaving the tunnel you will see some spectacular views along the Cleddau Valley, then there is the Chasm, the falls where the Cleddau River drops about 22m through a series of rock formations, and finally the Head of Milford Sound, which is the most famous and accessible of the magnificent glacier fiords.

It is Fiordlands best known attraction along New Zealand’s south western coast.

NOTE......
The road is occasionally closed from the Marian Corner due to adverse weather conditions, particularly in winter. Signs at each end of the road notify motorists of closure. The no stopping signs between Marian Corner and The Chasm should be observed during periods of avalanche danger.

This place was amazing!

Just a short walk from the road, the water is rushing down the Cleddau River with such force, that over thousands of years, it has sculpted the boulders and has even put holes through them! It was rather mesmerizing, you definately wouldn't want to fall in, it would be the end of you! Waterfalls, lovely forest, but hard to get a decent photo to show what it IS REALLY LIKE, you really have to stop and have a look yourself!

Only about a 20min walk.

2 more images

We booked our Milford sound cruise at Te Anau, whether this is a good idea or not, I am not sure. Weather is very unpredictable in this area, and a fine sunny day, very quickly became a very, very wet night and following day!

Our cruise was with the "RED BOAT'
This company was professional and good, no complaints and would use them again!

We arrived the night before the cruise and stayed at Milford sound.

Overnight.................

Yes, it rained and rained, and we already had the cruise booked. Looking out of our Campervan window, to our amazement, we saw big Waterfalls that weren't there yesterday. It was cold and wet, so we rugged up and went to do the cruise.

The Cruise..............

The day was dull, drizzly rain, and fog misting over the mountains, but Waterfalls!, our Captain said there is over 100 of them when it rains, and wow! what a sight it was, absolutely fantastic. Normally, there are only 3 permanent waterfalls. The photos didn't come out the best, but the memories remain.
We were told we were lucky to see it like this, and I think so too.

YES, we were disappointed the day had turned ugly, but the Cruise was still worth doing, just to see all the amazing waterfalls, it was fantastic!

Now we will have to go back to see it on a sunny day!

Walking around the shops at Te Anau, we came across a large turquoise Bird statue!

This statue was of the Takahe which was thought to be extinct for over 40 years until it was rediscovered in a remote valley across Lake Te Anau. Now with the wild population entirely endemic to the Fiordland area, you can see the "real thing" at the Te Anau wildlife park, along with other species such as keas, kaka, bellbirds and tui’s.