Te Anau Travel Guide

If you're here and it's raining, count yourself lucky. Take the boat ride anyway. The captain will take the boat under the waterfalls, but you're wet anyway, so stay up top and feel the spray. Everything comes out in the rain; instead of 10 little waterfalls coming down a sunny hillside, you'll have 50 little waterfalls and 3 big ones coming down a mountainside shrouded in an eerie mist that's not comparable to anything. It looks as though the water and mountain go on forever. A sunny day I'm sure is quite nice, but the experience of Milford in the rain is one you are not soon to forget. Just be sure everything you have on is quite waterproof, the drive is long so a second pair of everything will keep you cozy on the way out.

Te Anau is a rgeat quiet little town with great treks... stick to the high ground for the best views. Best to see Milford Sound in late summer. If you wait towards the end of "the season," the prices drop, especially for the first boat tour of the day. Bring insect repellant. The sand flies are worse in Milford Sound than almost everywhere else. Bring a good camera, it is difficult to capture the scope of this part of the country even with a really nice one. Check out the Mirror Lakes on your way to Milford from Te Anau. Pack a lunch, there is only one place to buy food in Milford.

Winter (July) is a great time to go.  No crowds, no need for reservations, great deals.  Could be rainy but the winter weather at Doubtful Sound is other-worldly beautiful!