Te Anau is the last proper town before Fiordland, and nearly everything about it is a preparation for the wild country beyond. It sits on the eastern shore of the lake of the same name, the biggest lake in the South Island, with the Kepler and Murchison mountains rising on the far side, and about two thousand people live here, serving the hikers, boaters and bus tours that pass through. Maori knew the area as a source of greenstone and a place to hunt weka and eel. In 1948 a doctor named Geoffrey Orbell found a small population of takahe, a large flightless bird thought extinct for fifty years, in a remote valley in the Murchison Mountains across the water, one of the great wildlife stories of New Zealand.
For riders the town is the hinge between two famous roads. The Southern Scenic Route runs in from the south through sheep country and tussock, while the Milford Road, State Highway 94, heads north-west for about a hundred and twenty kilometres to Milford Sound. That road is one of the world's great drives, running through beech forest, the open glacial valley of the Eglinton, the Mirror Lakes and finally up to the Homer Tunnel, a rough rock bore of more than a kilometre that drops steeply out of the mountains on the far side. In winter and spring, avalanches can close the road, and chains may be required.
The most important practical point is fuel. Te Anau has petrol stations, and there are none along the Milford Road, so fill up here before you go, and again on the way back. Food, supplies and accommodation are plentiful in town, but summer demand is heavy, so book ahead. The weather is the other consideration. Fiordland is among the wettest places on earth, and rain can arrive within minutes and last for days, though the waterfalls it creates are spectacular. Sandflies are fierce at the roadside stops, so carry repellent.
There are glowworm caves across the lake, reached by boat, and walking tracks start close to town, including the first section of the Kepler. The best riding months are December to March, with long evenings, but even then pack a proper waterproof and warm layers.