Fiordland es más fácil cuando el camping permanece quieto. Base alrededor de Te Anau durante cuatro noches, luego deje que el clima y las condiciones de la carretera decidan el orden de Milford Sound, Manapouri y los días de caminata.
construir la base
Elija un parque de vacaciones de Te Anau para obtener servicios o un campamento aprobado por el DOC que se ajuste a las necesidades de vehículos y agua. Reserve las fechas de verano con anticipación y nunca utilice el comienzo de un sendero como lugar improvisado para pasar la noche.
Compre comida y combustible antes de cada largo día. No hay estaciones de combustible comunes en Milford Road y la recepción no es confiable en gran parte del parque nacional.
Carretera Milford
Consulta el estado de las carreteras, los controles de avalanchas y el tiempo antes de salir. Conduzca temprano, utilice las paradas designadas y recuerde que las mismas hermosas cascadas pueden indicar lluvia intensa y aumento del agua.
La reserva de un crucero no protege contra un camino cerrado. Mantenga informado al operador, permita un tiempo de viaje generoso y acepte que Fiordland a veces reemplaza el plan con el clima.
Caminata y recuperación
Utilice los bordes de Kepler Track, la orilla del lago y las caminatas DOC más cortas para días flexibles. Los recorridos más largos requieren reserva de cabañas, equipo de travesía y una previsión adecuada a la ruta completa.
Secar las botas, rellenar agua y descansar entre salidas importantes. La escala de Fiordland se absorbe mejor con tiempo libre, no desde un vehículo que regresa exhausto a Te Anau todas las noches.
The Milford road is a serious drive
State Highway 94 from Te Anau to Milford is 119 kilometres, takes at least two hours each way without stops, has no fuel, no reception for most of its length, and is subject to avalanche closure in winter and spring. It is also one of the best drives anywhere.
Leave early, fill up in Te Anau, and allow a full day for the return trip with stops at Mirror Lakes, the Chasm and the Eglinton Valley. Do not attempt it as an afternoon addition to another day.
Winter avalanche control closes the road
Between roughly May and November the Milford road operates under an avalanche risk programme, with scheduled closures and mandatory chain carriage at times. Closures can be announced at short notice and the road can shut with vehicles at Milford, requiring an overnight stay.
Check the status on the morning you travel, carry chains if required, and never drive past a closure barrier. The avalanche paths above that road are large and the control programme exists because of a genuine history of them.
Rain makes Milford better
Milford Sound receives around seven metres of rain a year and the waterfalls that make it extraordinary only run properly when it is raining. A clear day gives you the peaks; a wet day gives you hundreds of temporary falls down the cliff faces.
Book a cruise regardless of the forecast, take a waterproof layer and go outside on the deck. Travellers who cancel because of rain are cancelling the better version of the experience.
Camping and the sandflies
There are DOC campsites through the Eglinton Valley along the road, which are the practical option since accommodation at Milford itself is very limited. Freedom camping near the fiords is not permitted, and the restriction is enforced.
Fiordland sandflies are the worst in the country and Milford's are legendary. Repellent is not optional here, and setting up camp in the Eglinton at dusk without it is genuinely unpleasant.
Doubtful Sound and the alternative to Milford
Doubtful Sound is larger, quieter and reached by a boat across Lake Manapouri followed by a bus over Wilmot Pass, which makes it a full day and considerably more expensive than Milford. In exchange you see almost no other vessels.
For travellers who have the time and budget, the overnight cruises on either sound are the version most people remember. They book out well ahead in summer and are weather-dependent like everything else here.
Manapouri itself is a quieter base than Te Anau with a good campground and the Kepler Track trailhead nearby. If Te Anau is full, it is twenty minutes away and usually has space.
Te Anau as a base
Te Anau has the services, the DOC visitor centre for track and weather information, and the accommodation that Milford lacks. Almost everyone bases here and drives out, which is the sensible arrangement.
The Te Anau glow worm caves are a boat trip across the lake and work well as an evening activity, particularly on a day when the weather ruled out something else.
Lugares a lo largo del camino
Llévalo a la carretera
Guarda las paradas. Planifica todo el viaje.
Cree una ruta ordenada a partir de lugares guardados, calcule la distancia y mantenga adjuntas fechas, notas y tareas pendientes.