Te Anau, NZ

Long-running Te Anau restaurant in a heritage building on Mokonui Street, with wild Fiordland venison, Stewart Island salmon and the kind of cooking the region's produce deserves. The grown-up dinner in town.

All-day cafe-restaurant at the entrance to town with a kiwi-classic menu and a focus on local produce. The casual reliable choice for any meal.

Casual bar-and-grill on Town Centre with a modern kiwi menu, big plates and the village's busiest deck on a summer evening. Family-friendly until evening.

A long-running cafe on The Lane with the village's strongest cabinet baking and a tight brunch menu. The locals' weekday cafe.

A casual Asian-inspired restaurant on Town Centre — baos, sushi bowls, dumplings and loaded fries made from local produce — consistently rated the best meal in Te Anau for the money. Walk-in only; the room is small and fills fast.

Family-run pizzeria on Lakefront Drive with hand-rolled pastas and wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas. Reliable, generous, the casual Italian dinner.

A daytime cafe in a converted house on Town Centre, with garden seating and a Mediterranean-leaning brunch menu. The pretty cafe in town.

Counter-style fish-and-chips on Town Centre with the village's best fresh-fish takeaway, including Fiordland crayfish in season. The casual seafood lunch.

Casual bar on Town Centre with a long taps list, casual pub menu and the village's most reliable post-track evening. Family-friendly until late.

The dining room at Milford Sound Lodge, with wild venison, Marlborough salmon, and the breathtaking location 2 hours from Te Anau. The destination dinner if you stay at Milford Sound overnight.

A 60km multi-day Great Walk starting from Te Anau, with several easy day-walk sections. Brod Bay (4 hours return) is the family-friendly taster; the Luxmore climb is the half-day workout. Stunning lake-and-mountain country.

A 33km Great Walk from The Divide on the Milford Road, with day-walk options to Lake Howden (3 hours return) and to the Routeburn Falls. Sheer alpine drama, accessible without overnighting.

The country's most famous multi-day Great Walk, with day-walk access only at the southern end via the Glade Wharf water taxi. Sandfly Point return is a 6-hour easy walk. The serious walk is the 4-day multi-day.

A steep 3-hour return walk on the Milford Road to a stunning alpine lake. The single best day-walk in Fiordland for the effort-to-reward ratio. Genuine alpine country.

A flat 45-minute return walk on the Milford Road through silver beech forest beside the lake. Pram-friendly, family-friendly. The casual stop on the drive.

A 3-hour return walk on the Milford Road to a sub-alpine plateau with views of the Hollyford and Eglinton Valleys. The accessible alpine experience for non-tramping visitors.

A flat 4km walk along the village lakefront from the iSite south to the bird sanctuary and beyond. Pram-friendly, family-friendly. The local daily walk.

A 1.5-hour return walk on the Mavora Lakes Road off the Te Anau-Milford Highway, to a small alpine lake. Quiet, off-route. The under-the-radar half-day walk.

Half-day boat cruise into Milford Sound, with two-hour sailings several times a day from the wharf. Multiple operators including Real Journeys, JUCY and Mitre Peak Cruises. The country's defining cruise.

Eight-hour boat-bus-boat day trip from Manapouri to the deeper, quieter Doubtful Sound. The cruise is three hours long; the rest is bus-and-boat connections. The serious-traveller alternative to Milford.

Evening boat-and-cave tour across the lake to a limestone cave system with a small grotto boat through glow worms. Family-friendly, genuinely magical.

Fixed-wing scenic flight from Te Anau or Queenstown to Milford Sound with a fly-cruise-fly option. The fastest way to do Milford if you do not want a 5-hour drive each way.

Free conservation aviary on the lakefront with takahe, kakas and native birds. Five-minute walk from the village. Quietly important; the under-the-radar Te Anau stop.

Small village cinema with the documentary 'Ata Whenua: Shadowland' running on a loop, with stunning aerial photography of Fiordland. The right rainy-day add to a Te Anau evening.

Guided kayak tours of Milford or Doubtful Sound, with the chance to paddle into waterfalls and seal colonies. Half-day at Milford, full-day at Doubtful.

Small Saturday morning market on the lakefront with local produce, baking and craft. The village's social hub on a Saturday.

Guided fly-fishing trips on the rivers around Te Anau, with the country's best wild trout fishing. Half-day or full-day; gear included.

The single most photographed natural sight in New Zealand: a 15km fjord with sheer 1700m cliffs, Mitre Peak, and the country's heaviest rainfall feeding hundreds of waterfalls. Two-hour drive from Te Anau on one of the world's great drives. Cruise it; the road in is half the experience.

The deeper, quieter alternative to Milford Sound, reached only by boat-bus-boat from Manapouri. Three times longer and ten times less crowded, with a pre-dawn silence that Milford rarely offers. The 8-hour day-trip is the standard.

The waterfront of the country's second-largest lake, with the village strung out along the eastern shore and views across to the wild Fiordland mountains beyond. The orientation point.

A free conservation aviary on the lakefront with the country's only takahe display, plus kakas and other endangered native birds. Five-minute walk from the village. Quietly important.

A boat trip across the lake to a limestone cave system with a small boat ride through a glow worm grotto. Half-day evening tour. Family-friendly, genuinely magical.

The 119km drive from Te Anau to Milford, considered one of the world's great drives. The Eglinton Valley, Mirror Lakes, the Chasm and the Homer Tunnel are the major stops. Allow a full day for the drive alone.

Small kettle lakes on the Milford Road with a 10-minute boardwalk to a viewing platform over still water that mirrors the Earl Mountains. Free, family-friendly, the standard photo stop on the drive in.

A 20-minute boardwalk through native forest to a viewing platform over the Cleddau River squeezing through a narrow rock chasm. Free, family-friendly, on the Milford Road. The wilder version of the country's slot-canyon walks.

The 1.2km single-lane tunnel through the Darran Mountains on the Milford Road, blasted between 1935 and 1953. Traffic-controlled at peak; you wait at lights for the cars coming the other way. The dramatic transition into the Milford valley.