Te Anau to Milford Sound, Stop by Stop: The Fiordland Drive
The short answer. The 120 km from Te Anau to Milford Sound takes about two hours without stopping, and three with the short walks. The stops that matter are the Eglinton Valley, the reflecting lakes, Lake Gunn, The Divide, the tunnel and The Chasm. Fiordland guided tours stop at most of them for 5 to 20 minutes each, so you can see the road without planning it.
The road at a glance
State Highway 94 leaves Te Anau along the lake, turns inland up the Eglinton Valley and climbs to the Homer Tunnel before dropping to the fiord. There is no fuel, no shop and only one set of public toilets, at Knobs Flat, between the two ends. Mobile signal works at Te Anau Downs, Totara Campsite and The Divide, and nowhere else until the fiord.
| Stop | From Te Anau | The walk | Allow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Te Anau Downs | On the lake road | None: a wharf and a signal | A short stop |
| Eglinton Valley | Past the park boundary | Roadside | 10 minutes |
| Mirror Lakes | 56 km | 400 m boardwalk | 10 minutes |
| Lake Gunn | 78 km | 1.4 km loop | 45 minutes |
| The Divide | Past Lake Gunn | Key Summit, 3 to 5 hours | 10 minutes or half a day |
| Homer Tunnel | After The Divide | None | Up to 20 minutes at the lights |
| The Chasm | 109 km | About 20 minutes | 20 minutes |
| Milford Sound | 120 km | Foreshore walk, 30 minutes | Half a day |
The distances are DOC's, measured from Te Anau. The walk times come from DOC and from Visit Fiordland. How the road fits with the rest of the park is set out on getting to Fiordland.
Te Anau and Te Anau Downs
Te Anau is the last place for fuel and food. Fill up here. The road then follows the shore of Lake Te Anau north to Te Anau Downs, where the boat to the start of the Milford Track leaves for Glade Wharf, a trip of 1 hour 15 minutes. You get phone signal here, the first of only a few places before the fiord.
The Eglinton Valley
Past the park boundary the road runs into the Eglinton Valley, a wide valley floor between walls of red beech. It follows the path of an ancient glacier, and the small-group day from Queenstown makes its first photo stop here, for about 10 minutes. The beech forest here is home to the mohua, or yellowhead, a small bird that is recovering after a transfer from Chalky Island in 2010.
Knobs Flat, further up the valley, has the only public toilets on the road. The coach day that flies back to Queenstown lists Knobs Flat among its stops, along with the Mirror Lakes and the Eglinton Valley.
The reflecting lakes
The Mirror Lakes are 56 km from Te Anau. A 400 m boardwalk takes about 10 minutes and is suitable for wheelchairs. On a still day the lakes show the Earl Mountains upside down. Wind breaks the reflection, so a calm day gives you the best of it. The small-group day from Queenstown stops here for 10 minutes. Every walk in the park, short or long, is on things to do in Fiordland.
Lake Gunn
Lake Gunn is 78 km from Te Anau. The Lake Gunn Nature Walk is a 1.4 km loop of about 45 minutes. The small-group day from Queenstown often stops here for five minutes of photographs. The Te Anau day with a nature guide walks here, and in the Hollyford Valley, with stops of 5 to 30 minutes. Mary, from Canada, found the guide kept two children and the adults interested on the walk, pointing out the birds and plants.
The Divide
The Divide has phone signal and a car park. From here you walk an hour up the Routeburn Track, then climb to Key Summit, a walk Visit Fiordland puts at 3 to 5 hours return. Nearby Pops View, a roadside lookout, is a 10-minute stop on the small-group day from Queenstown.
Further on, at the Hollyford Road turn-off, a swing bridge leads to Lake Marian Falls, a 20-minute walk to a viewing platform. Keep an eye on the signs between the Hollyford Road junction and The Chasm: DOC marks this stretch as a no-stopping zone because of avalanche risk, which is highest from late August to early November.
The Homer Tunnel
At the head of the valley the road meets the Homer Tunnel. William Homer found the saddle in 1889, and work on the tunnel began in 1935. It is 1.2 km long, 945 m above the sea, and steep, dropping towards Milford. In summer traffic lights let one direction through at a time, and the wait can be up to 20 minutes. Kea, the mountain parrot, are often seen at the tunnel. DOC asks that you do not feed them.
The Chasm
The Chasm is 109 km from Te Anau, and a 400 m return walk of about 20 minutes. Here the Cleddau River has carved smooth holes and basins in the rock. A storm in February 2020 closed the walk, and it reopened on 24 April 2023 as far as the river's edge. For the latest, ask at the visitor centre in Te Anau before you set off.
Milford Sound
The road ends at the terminal, 120 km from Te Anau. Park, walk in, and board your cruise. If you have time, the Milford Sound Foreshore Walk runs for up to 30 minutes from the lodge to the terminal, with the best view from the shore of Mitre Peak. The fiord itself is on the Milford Sound page, and what you pay once you get there is in the visitor guide.
Timing the drive
DOC's rule of thumb is two hours from Te Anau without stops, plus 45 minutes at the far end to park and walk to the terminal. Visit Fiordland suggests three hours for the drive with the short walks. So for a cruise at noon with every stop, leave Te Anau by about 8am. In winter, DOC advises setting off after 9am and carrying chains, which puts your cruise in the afternoon. The road is busiest from October to April, and the tunnel lights are part of the wait in summer.
Drive it yourself, or let a guide
Driving yourself gives you every stop at your own pace, but it is 240 km there and back from Te Anau, and the drive home comes after a long day. A coach day hands the road to someone else. From Te Anau, the day with short walks adds the Lake Gunn walk and the Hollyford Valley. From Queenstown, the small-group day with lunch stops at Te Anau, the valley, the reflecting lakes, Lake Gunn and the mountains. If you want to walk part of the Great Walk as well, the cruise and track day takes you by water taxi from Deepwater Basin to the track. Aleksandr found about three hours on the track was just enough to reach the falls and come back.
- Short on time: stop at the reflecting lakes, The Divide and The Chasm.
- A keen walker: add Lake Gunn and Key Summit, and stay the night in Te Anau.
- In winter: leave after 9am, carry chains, and skip the stops in the avalanche zone.
Every day that drives this road is compared on Milford Sound tours.
Days that stop along the road
From Te Anau: Milford Sound Cruise & Track Walk by Coach
Coach from Te Anau, a cruise of up to two hours, then a water taxi to the start of the Great Walk for an 11 km return walk to Giant Gates Falls on your own. Bring lunch or add one on board.
From $219 per person
Check Availability
From Queenstown: Milford Sound Day Trip with Cruise & Flight
The road in with stops at the lakes, the flats and the valley, a 2-hour cruise out to the sea and a picnic lunch, then a 40-minute flight home to Queenstown.
From $540 per person
Check Availability
From Te Anau: Milford Sound Coach, Cruise, and Walks
A day from Te Anau with a nature guide and no more than 15 guests: short walks on the road, a 2-hour small-boat cruise to the Tasman Sea and a packed picnic lunch.
From $157 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: Work out the parking, the terminal and the cruise with our guide to visiting the fiord. Every fare sits side by side on Fiordland Tours.