A cruise is the reason most people come, but Fiordland also has short strolls beside the road and walks that fill a day. Here are the short stops on the Milford Road, a day on the Milford Track, the lake and the caves at Te Anau, and the river and the trail at Manapouri. If you are planning around Fiordland guided tours, this is what fits around them.
The Milford Track is a Great Walk of 53.5 km, walked one way over 3 nights and 4 days between November and April. You need a hut booking for that. You do not need one to walk a section for a day from the Milford end.
The walk is self-guided, and lunch is not in the fare unless you add it on the cruise. DOC says the track is walked in one direction only, so the day walk from Milford is the way to see part of it without the full four days.
These stops sit along the 120 km of the Milford Road from Te Anau. Mirror Lakes and Lake Gunn are stops on the Queenstown coach days, and Lake Gunn on the Te Anau day too. Key Summit needs half a day, so it suits a day when you drive yourself. The Chasm was hit by a storm in February 2020; DOC reopened it in April 2023 as a view from the river's edge.
Lake Te Anau, DOC says, is the largest body of fresh water in Australasia, and Te Anau town sits on its shore. The historic motor yacht Faith sails from the town wharf: a 3-hour cruise with a guided walk of about 40 minutes to the Hidden Lakes, or an evening cruise with champagne.
Across the lake are the Te Anau Glowworm Caves. RealNZ runs a boat to the western shore, then a guided walk and a small boat through caves it says are just 12,000 years old, to a grotto lit by glowworms. You stay silent in the grotto and photography is not allowed, so it may not suit very young children.
The Kepler Track is a 60 km Great Walk loop that starts 5 km from Te Anau. You do not have to walk the loop. From the Kepler Track car park, the first section runs 5.6 km along the lake shore through beech forest to Brod Bay, about 1 hour 30 minutes each way.
A scheduled boat also runs to Brod Bay, DOC says, so you can walk one way and ride the other. Above Brod Bay the track climbs hard for 3 hours 30 minutes to 4 hours 30 minutes to Luxmore Hut, which needs a booking.
The Lake2Lake trail links Lake Manapouri and Lake Te Anau. The jet boat and bike day sends you back to town on an 11 km section of it, standard bike or e-bike, 1.5 to 2 hours for most riders. The ride is self-guided, so you set your own pace.
If you want to paddle, both overnight cruises put you in a kayak: on Doubtful Sound with a kayak or tender-boat trip at anchor, and on Milford Sound on the Fiordland Jewel. DOC asks everyone who moves gear between waterways to check, clean and dry it, to stop the spread of didymo.
DOC notes two Lord of the Rings locations near Manapouri. The Waiau River played the River Anduin, and the Kepler Mire played the Dead Marshes. The Waiau is the river the jet boats run from Te Anau down to Lake Manapouri.
The jet boat day runs 75 minutes on the river and out onto Lake Manapouri, with a 15-minute guided walk in the beech forest. You see the river from the water, at speed.
| Thing to do | Time you need | Where it starts |
|---|---|---|
| Mirror Lakes | 10 minutes | The Milford Road, 56 km from Te Anau |
| The Chasm | 20 minutes | The Milford Road, 109 km from Te Anau |
| Foreshore walk, Milford Sound | Up to 30 minutes | The lodge at the head of the fiord |
| Lake Gunn Nature Walk | 45 minutes | Cascade Creek car park, 78 km from Te Anau |
| Kepler Track to Brod Bay | 1 hour 30 minutes each way | Kepler Track car park, 5 km from Te Anau |
| Lake2Lake ride to town | 1.5 to 2 hours | Queen's Reach, on the Waiau River |
| Key Summit | 3 to 5 hours return | The Divide car park |
| A day on the Great Walk | About 4 hours, 11 km return | A water taxi from Deepwater Basin |
| Te Anau Glowworm Caves | A lake crossing each way plus the caves | Te Anau, by boat |
With an hour, stop at Mirror Lakes, Lake Gunn or The Chasm on the drive. With half a day, walk to Brod Bay, climb Key Summit or ride the Lake2Lake trail. With a full day, walk a section of the Milford Track after your cruise.
The coach days stop at the lakes and walks on the way in: compare them with the flights and the lake cruises.
The walks, their distances and times, the Milford Track, the Kepler Track, The Chasm's reopening, Lake Te Anau and the Middle-earth locations are the Department of Conservation's, checked 21 September 2026; Key Summit and Lake Marian Falls are Visit Fiordland's. The glowworm caves are RealNZ's own page. The day walk, the bike ride and the kayaks come from each tour's listing.
Ninety minutes at dusk on Faith, a 1935 motor yacht, from the historic wharf in Te Anau: champagne, wine and canapés, a turn at the wheel and an anchorage in a sheltered cove. Transport is not included.
From $94 per person
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A jet boat run on the Waiau River and a 15-minute forest walk with a guide, then an 11 km ride back to Te Anau on a standard bike or an e-bike, at your own pace.
From $151 per person
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Three hours on Faith, a 1935 motor yacht, across Lake Te Anau, with a guided walk of about 40 minutes to the Hidden Lakes and tea and drinks on board.
From $94 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: see the Fiordland map, plan the drive on getting to Fiordland, or compare every tour on Fiordland Tours.