Tim_and_Liz

Is the glowworm tour worth the time and money? What time of day is best? I was thinking of taking the 8:15-10:45pm tour in January when the sunset is at about 9:20pm. I thought it would be beautiful to see the sunset over Lake Te Anau on the way to the caves and then to ride in darkness on the way back. What do you think?
Any other Te Anau recommendations? We're considering staying at the Lakefront Lodge.
Thanks!

mosthecat

The Te Anau tour of glow worms takes a while because of the boat ride. Assuming you have nice weather, and haven't just gotten off an overnight boat to Doubtful Sound (which we mistakenly did), you should enjoy the trip. The glow worms are fun to see, but, remember, they are points of light. Some folks seem disappointed they don't light up as bright as bulbs.

someotherguy

I've not seen the glowworms in Te Anau but I've seen them at Waitomo Caves on the North Island and in a grotto in the grounds of the Paparoa Park Motel at Punakaiki on the South Island (by Pancake Rocks). They are truly a wonder and well worth seeing.

I do not recommend the Lakefront Lodge: it actually fronts a busy road at right angles to the lake; the units have picture windows facing the street so you have no privacy from the gaze of passing pedestrians and motorists. The Campbell Autolodge has good reviews and looks pleasant and really does face the lake. (Well, the road runs along the lake and the Campbell Autolodge and many other motels are the other side of the road and well back from it.)

The main reason for visiting Te Anau is as a base for trips to Doubtful and Milford sounds and you may have had enough of lakes and boats after these.

Tim_and_Liz

Thanks for your comments...
I didn't realize the Lakefront Lodge faced Mokora St. instead of Lakefront Drive like I assumed! Thank you for the "heads up." Campbell looks very nice and we have emailed for reservations.
We will be taking the Milford Sound overnight cruise the night following our stay in Te Anau.

someotherguy

I took the overnight cruise and enjoyed it very much--mainly because it gave me plenty of time to explore the road to Milford Sound without all the buses (I was told that 70 buses a day take that road). The full day tour of Doubtful Sound is also worthwhile. If you are continuing to the South after Milford Sound, I highly recommend the Balmoral Lodge in Invercargill.

Tim_and_Liz

someotherguy
If you could only choose either the Milford Sound or Doubtful Sound overnight due to time restrictions, which would you choose? I am really leaning toward Milford because of the scenery on Milford Rd. and Mitre Peak. From what I've read, Milford has more dramatic scenery (higher mountains) while Doubtful more wildlife. Is this true? If so, then we'll choose Milford as we'll see wildlife other places in NZ...
Many thanks for your comments.
We are actually heading straight to Dunedin after Te Anau... We'll have to save Invercargill and the Catlins for next time!

someotherguy

The Doubtful Sound trip and scenery is quite different to Milford: first you cross a very scenic lake (returning at sunset when I did it), tour the hydro plant, then a bus ride through rather fine scenery (waterfalls) with one really spectacular overlook of the sound, then a boat on the sound itself. Doubtful sound is much bigger than Milford and the whole trip is a very long day--I groaned inwardly when we took a detour into one last inlet. The most interesting wildlife was the dolphins: Doubtful has its own pod, which we saw, but we also saw dolphins in Milford sound. There are birds and seals in both.

I'd go with Milford if you can only do one: the scenery along the road is excellent, the sound itself is pretty good, and the entrance back into the sound from the Tasman is very impressive. And you see the famous view of Mitre Peak.

In Dunedin, I enjoyed the Penguin and Albatross places out on the Otago peninsular.

mlgb

I find myself agreeing with mosthecat again! For the reason you stated, more dramatic scenery at Milford. And you will be able to see wildlife in Dunedin. And I just LOVE Penguin Place..so quirky! (I call it combination guerilla warfare and wildlife viewing). I recommend paying to have someone else drive you to Milford. It really isn't fair to the driver to have to focus on the road, and is a rather longish day. If you do plan on driving yourselves, leave as early as you possibly can.
In Te Anau I stayed once at the Cosy Kiwi. It was okay, clean, but maybe the walls were a bit thin. Assuming you are passing thru Invercargill, if you can manage to spend an hour in the Southland Museum, it is worthwhile to check the tuatarium for Henry, and the Sub-Antartic exhibit. Although everyone will send you to that seafood palace with the ropes and floats (name escapes me), I really liked Jagz Cafe at 72 King St.