Tracknet offer reliable daily scheduled passenger bus and coach services to and from many of the most beautiful areas of the South Island.
Tracknet
77 Manapouri-Te Anau Road
Te Anau 9679
New Zealand
res@tracknet.net
The full 3 night, 4 day Milford Track walk will reopen from 30 November 2020 to 30 April 2021. Hut bookings are essential during this period and Milford Track hut reservations are open from 9:30am on Tuesday 18th August 2020 on the Department of Conservation website.
Bookings will open in September (date to be announced) for hiking on the Milford Track from 27 October to 29 November 2020. This will be for a 2 night, 3 day walk. Bookings will be required for the Clinton and Mintaro huts. Please note that the section between Dumpling Hut and Sandfly Point remains closed until the 30th of November 2020.
The below transport options are only available during 30 November 2020 - 30 April 2021. Contact us if you require transport outside of these months. Please read the following details before booking:
Bookings: You can check departure times and availability online. Book online and receive an instant email confirmation. Alternatively, please contact us to make your bookings or for further details.
Milford Track Shuttle | Departure Times | Travel Time | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Queenstown to Te Anau Downs | 6:55am* | 10:35am* | 3hrs & 15mins | |
Te Anau to Te Anau Downs | 9:45am | 1:25pm | 30 mins | |
Ferry from Te Anau Downs to Milford Track | 10:30am | 2:00pm | 1hr & 30mins | |
Ferry from Sandfly Point to Milford Sound | 1:30pm | 3:30pm | 20mins | |
Milford Sound to Te Anau | 9:25am | 2:30pm | 5:00pm | 2hrs & 15mins |
Milford Sound to Queenstown | 9:25am | 2:30pm | 5hrs | |
Milford Sound Cruise | 2:30pm | 1hr & 45mins |
*The Queenstown to Te Anau Downs service has a 15 minute stop-over at the Te Anau Department of Conservation (DOC) to collect hut tickets. There may also be a possible bus change.
Image from: DOC
The 53.5 km Milford Track is in the heart of spectacular Fiordland National Park, which is part of the Te Wahi Pounamu, South West New Zealand World Heritage Area.
The Milford Track starts at the head of Lake Te Anau and finishes in Milford Sound. Te Anau is the nearest township to the start of the track. It is 150kms from Invercargill; 180kms from Queenstown; 300kms from Dunedin and 650kms from Christchurch. Te Anau has a full range of accommodation, hire services and car storage.
Often described as the finest walk in the world, the Milford Track is one of New Zealand’s most popular. The track can only be walked in one direction, as a 4 day / 3 night walk – Glade Wharf to Milford Sound, during the Great Walks Summer Season (late October to late April). Only 40 Independent Walkers and a similar number of Guided walkers are permitted to start the track each day. Booking during summer is essential – book through the Department of Conservation website to reserve your hut space on the Track.
The Milford Track passes through the beech forests of a sheer-sided glacial valley as it gradually climbs and follows the usually crystal-clear Clinton River to the foot of Mackinnon Pass. From the pass (1073 metres) spectacular views of the surrounding mountains are obtained. The Sutherland Falls, the highest waterfall in New Zealand can be seen after the descent from the pass. The higher rainfall and milder temperatures of the Arthur Valley give a more diverse forest walk, past waterfalls and lakes to Sandfly Point. A wide variety of native birds may be seen or heard along the length of the track.
Your walk concludes at Sandfly Point, where a ferry will take you the short distance across the bay to Milford Sound. Here is where the Tracknet bus departs to take you on your onward journey to the Divide, Te Anau Downs, Te Anau or Queenstown.