The South Island's second largest lake is set amongst spectacular mountain ranges and breathtaking scenery. Three large fiords fed into the great lake and it is the starting for two world famous walks. The Milford Track and the Heapy track.
Cruising around the lake you'll gaze upon rainforest and on the western shore, there is an underground network of caves lit by thousands of glow worms. These are the so called hidden caves. Filled with sculpted rock, whirlpools and a roaring underground waterfall, the glow worm cave have become a major tourist attraction. Access though is limited to tour operators to protect the fragile ecosystem that exists in these caves. The Aurora Cave is higher up from the Glow worm one.
Its a magnificent wilderness of forest and mountains with the Kepler and Murchison Ranges rise to around 1700 metres above sea level.
The best fishing is in the Eglinton valley and the lake is stocked with both Bowna dn Rainbow trout and a few landlocked salmon. During the summer the hot dry weather encourages water skiing, swimming, fishing and kayaking on the lake.
Te Anau is the largest settlement near the lake and is filled with travellers either going to or from one of the various world famous walks in the area. Tourism is obviously one of the major industries in this town. You can book a cruise on Lake Te Anau from here. There are various options anywhere from 3 hour cruises to overnight tours to more lengthy stays. They also go out to the Glade house, the start of the Milford track and you can explore both Milford and Doubtful sounds from here.
Fiordland
