Te Anau is a smaller town with a relaxed pace where you need to spend more than 1 night to appreciate.
Te Anau is the best base from where one can visit the lake and the surrounding area, and it is the main visitor base for Fiordland National Park.
The ideal place to base yourself to visit Milford &/or Doubtful Sound, there are many smaller group day bus/van tours to to Milford Sound, it is only 240km (150 miles) return from Te Anau – unlike the 650km (400 miles) return bus tour from Queenstown, (13+ hour trip with 9 hours sitting on the bus).
You need to plan to spend at least 3 days in Te Anau.
Lake Te Anau spans an impressive area of 344 km², making it the second-largest lake in New Zealand by surface area and the largest in the South Island.
It is also recognised as the largest lake in Australasia by freshwater volume, with a maximum depth of 417 meters, ranking it as the third-deepest lake in New Zealand.
