I don't think we'll have time to do the full 4-day Milford Track. What are the best one-day hikes in the area? What are the best places to kayak in the area? What would be good bases for lodging from which to hike and kayak? Thanks.

Best is relative, but if you have at least a full day to spend between Te Anau and Milford, I suggest you take all day to explore Milford Road. The hike to Key Summit (along the Routeburn Track) is beautiful on a pretty day.

You'll find some other good options here:

https://www.milfordlodge.com/milford...ound-day-walks

Walking Milford Track as a day walk is also an option - you can take the boat from Te Anau Downs and walk in as far as you wish, then return to the boat for the return to Te Anau Downs. We did this one year and managed to fit in about 16 km of the track. You can opt for a slow-paced guided walk, or walk it yourself at your own pace, just make sure you get back to the dock in time for your boat!

As for lodging, we prefer to stay in Te Anau, which is two hours from Queenstown and two hours from Milford.

If you want something in between, you might consider Knob's Flat, but otherwise not a whole lot of options.

We stayed at Milford Sound Lodge - good food and offers some very nice package options, including kayaking.

www.milfordlodge.com

Lee Ann

There really aren't one day hikes in the Milford Sound area as the nature of a fiord is that it is steep sided.

Yet there are LOADS of hikes off of Milford Road.