Te Anau

Up bright and early we arrive at Te Anau by midday and check into a campsite the living room of which resembles more of a hunting lodge with big fireplace and comfy sofas. They agree to store our excess luggage while we do the walk along the Milford Track and even to store the campervan out back so all that remains is to orientate ourselves and collect our tickets.

Te Anau is a small town with a host of restaurants and souvenir shops most of which are quite upmarket as the town acts as the base from which many tourists visit Milford Sound, the beautiful fiords and mountains that will mark the end of our walk and an attraction for those less into the extreme sports for which Queenstown is focused. A stroll along the lake to the DOC visitors centre and we check in ready for the walk, the DOC ranger gives us a run down of all the equipment we should be taking – waterproofs, sturdy footwear, sleeping bags, plenty of food for 4 days and of course insect repellent. The place from which we’ll catch the launch at the end of the trail is called sandfly point for a reason and apparently the rest of the track isn’t much kinder.

I do my best to holdback from the temptation of the deli in town and after stuffing ourselves with pasta and packing our bags ready for the walk we retire early to bed.