Frequently Asked Questions

While the accommodation does not have a standard-sized oven, the kitchenette has a microwave-sized convection oven. There are also two plug-in electric hobs and plenty of pots / pans.

The accommodation does not have an extraction fan, so we respectfully request that any strong-smelling food (e.g. fish / curry) please be cooked on the outside BBQ, which has multiple hot-plates and grills. Strong smells can also linger in the heating / cooling ducts for multiple future bookings.

There is a bench-height fridge with very small freezer compartment within it.

There are no laundry facilities in the accommodation unit itself, but if you are happy to walk outside and into our garage, you are welcome to use our shared washing machine and tumble dryer (subject to availability). A clothes drying rack is housed in your hallway closet. Eco-laundry detergent is complementary.

Please note that this separate laundry space is also used by our family, and you may encounter our friendly dog, Cooper in this area. Please let us know if our dog is of concern, and we’ll ensure that he is contained elsewhere whenever you wish to use our laundry facilities.

Yes, we have one portacot (travel cot) and one high chair that we can set up for you, free of charge – please just let us know in advance of your stay. We follow the New Zealand safe sleep recommendations, and provide a fitted sheet over the portacot’s base, but no blankets or pillows. We have a variety of sleep sacks available in the wardrobe of the single bedroom, should they be needed.

Fiordland Eco-Retreat is a self-contained ‘Guest Suite’ with its own access, which is attached to our family home. There is potential to hear a minor amount of noise transfer, while we go about our day-to-day activities. Please note that although we have two young children, we do always try to be respectful of guests’ peace and quiet.

The two main bedrooms (one with a super-king bed and one with a queen-sized bed) have incredible northerly-facing views over the majestic Fiordland mountains and Lake Te Anau. The third, smaller bedroom (with a king-single bed & optional extra king-single trundle bed) is located at the back of the house and has a northerly view looking out to the back garden.

The lounge is a compact space, with a small window to the southern side of the house. This room does not offer mountain / lake views.

Yes! The hot tub is always kept hot for our guests’ sole use, so you can use it at whatever time of day or night that you desire.

We have a ‘bean-to-cup’ coffee machine, allowing you to make delicious fresh coffee at the push of a button. It also creates frothed hot milk, if required. The coffee beans used are organic, fair trade and locally roasted.

Our local council limits our guest capacity to five people maximum (infants <2 years are not included in this total). There are also only five dining chairs, and this unfortunately cannot be increased. The space would feel quite small for six guests; it has a very cosy lounge and a compact kitchenette / dining room. It also only has one main bathroom with a bath / shower (but there are two toilets in total, as well as a heated outside shower).

Yes, this is no problem. Please ensure that this is requested at least 24 hours prior to your arrival. The trundle bed is really intended for use by children (the mattress quality is not of the excepitional standard of the three permanent beds).

Unfortunately not. Due to manoeuvring limitations, it can only be used in the single bedroom.

To keep the accommodation as affordable as possible for those travelling by themselves / as a couple, the price is tiered depending upon how many people are staying. If you input the correct number of guests during the booking process, the correct price will be displayed; the rate for 1-2 guests will be lower than that for 3+ guests.

Fresh Choice is a good-sized supermarket, a 7 minute drive away from the Eco-Retreat. It closes at 8pm in winter and 9pm in summer.

There’s also a smaller convenience store, Four Square, located along the main high street.

There are a large variety of restaurants on offer. We highly recommend making reservations in advance of your arrival, especially during our high season (November – April).

There are many restaurants in Te Anau, but they do generally close up earlier than you may be used to in big cities.

There is a ‘New World’ supermarket close to Queenstown airport, in the Remarkables Shopping area, which you may like to visit prior to leaving Queenstown. It’s also worth noting that there are not any dinner stops on the drive between Queenstown and Te Anau.

For your convenience, we can provide various ‘local food hampers‘, to be in the accommodation, ready for your arrival. If you have any specific requests, please let us know as we can usually factor these in to the hamper’s contents.

While we don’t advertise breakfast as an amenity, we do usually offer a small selection of cereals for our guests, in addition to the coffee / tea provided. A bottle of fresh milk is also supplied.

Both Milford Sound and Doubtful Sounds are incredible, and you can’t make a wrong choice between them!

• The two fjords (mis-named ‘Sounds’ by early explorers) are very different: Milford Sound is far more dramatic with steep sides, and is a much smaller fjord.
• Doubtful Sound is not quite as dramatic and spectacular, but it’s far more expansive, with lots of islands and far fewer people. It’s a very peaceful, calm place.
• You cannot self-drive to Doubtful Sound – a tour company must transport you across Lake Manapouri (Manapouri is 25km from our house) and then you need to get on a bus to travel over a road called ‘Wilmot Pass’ in the middle of nowhere, to take you to the cruise boat. As a result, the tours are more expensive but you won’t have to pay for your own petrol.
• Milford Sound has a far higher number of visitors than Doubtful Sound, because it is easily accessible by road.
• The drive to Milford Sound is absolutely spectacular (see next point, below).

Part of the appeal of Milford Sound is the spectacular drive to get there. Doing a day walk or two up the Milford Road is definitely recommended, if you have time. Key Summit, a 3-hour return hike into the alpine areas of the Routeburn Track – one of New Zealand’s ‘Great Walks’, is a truly spectacular experience, especially when the weather is fine.

SELF-DRIVING

You can self-drive along the Milford Road, but ensure that you leave enough time to safely get there. We recommend at least 2 hours – more if you like to stop and take photos. Do not rely on Google Maps’ time recommendations, as they can be incorrect for this unique road.

Take caution driving the Milford Road:

• It is steep, narrow and windy. It is different to the roads that you may be used to.
• It will take longer to drive than Google would have you believe, and requires a lot of attention to drive it safely.
• Other tourists can be in a hurry and may overtake on blind corners – there are very few safe opportunities to overtake. They may also be tired on their drive back to Te Anau or Queenstown after being in Milford Sound. When we drive into Milford Sound with our family, we try to stay behind other vehicles for this reason.

We recommend leaving extra time for parking in Milford Sound. There are two car parking options:

• The closest one is a 10 minute walk from the boat terminal, and costs $10 per hour. Parking places here are very limited.
• The second option is a free carpark, which takes 30 minutes to walk from.

COACH / CRUISE PACKAGE

There are also a number of companies, such as Milford Sound Luxe Tours, who can drive you in to Milford Sound to link up with a boat cruise. This option is recommended for a number of reasons:

1. Having an experienced driver in charge of your journey takes a lot of pressure off the driver, and ensures that everyone can enjoy the spectacular scenery.
2. Your driver has a wealth of local knowledge, and will share this with you along the way. They also know the best places to stop for photographs.
3. No need to pay for parking and walk to the terminal – your coach driver will drop you off directly outside the ferry terminal, and be there when the cruise is finished.
4. The fewer cars there are on the road, the fewer emissions there are, making it the more sustainable option.

There are a number of companies, and they all take the same route around the fjord. You can’t go wrong with which one you choose.

• The midday cruises may be busier than the earlier morning or later afternoon cruises; This is when the big buses from Queenstown arrive. They travel for 4 hours each way, whereas travelling from Te Anau takes just 2 hours.
• Some bus transportation companies have a preferred cruise operator that they work with.
• Some visitors prefer a smaller vessel, which is where Cruise Milford would be a winner.
• Others like a larger vessel with some food options onboard (there aren’t any food options in Milford Sound), such as RealNZ. They do cap the number of people on board, so although it’s a bigger vessel, it doesn’t actually feel crowded.
• If you like the idea of a luxury 2-course lunch onboard, you may prefer joining the Fiordland Discovery cruise. This option is available during the summer months only.

If driving along the Milford Road during the winter months, you will be required to carry chains – the road is at a higher altitude than Te Anau. Drivers can encounter snow at any time, especially within 1 hour’s drive of Milford Sound. Be sure to check out the road conditions in advance, at the NZ Transport Agency.

The Milford Road is occasionally closed to traffic, for a number of possible reasons. In the winter, closures are usually due to snow conditions. In the spring, they are often due to possible avalanche risk.

There is a wonderful team of professionals in charge of monitoring the road to ensure that it is made safe for drivers as quickly as possible. Current road conditions / estimated re-opening times can be found here.

The portion of road from Te Anau to the Lower Hollyford Road (which is essentially the first hour of driving) is usually open year-round. It is the second hour of driving, between Hollyford and Milford Sound, that’s most often affected by adverse weather / avalanche risk.

If you are concerned about the Milford Road being closed while you are visiting, you may prefer to choose a cruise of Doubtful Sound instead. These cruises are almost always accessible year-round.

A scenic flight by helicopter / float plane is most definitely an experience to remember, and the novelty of a helicopter landing on Fiordland Eco-Retreat’s front lawn, whisking you away into the mountains is definitely the icing on the cake for the many guests who opt for this!

Others take a slower pace, and experience it on foot. A fantastic way to explore all three of Fiordland’s diverse ‘Great Walks’ (Milford Track, Kepler Track and Routeburn Track) is to walk them over 3-days, on a great walks package.

Take a look at our local activities page for more suggestions.

Please see our page on this: Local Activities

We can also book activities on your behalf – please see our Packages page for details.

There are certain activities that we can arrange on your behalf, and take payment for on the company’s behalf. Examples include scenic helicopter flights, Milford Sound cruise / bus packages, a ‘3 Great Walks in 3 Days’ hiking package, or a relaxing sunset cruise on Lake Te Anau in a beautiful historic boat.

Please get in touch if you wish to discuss this.

The Fiordland mountains will likely be covered in snow, but we only get snow on the ground outside the Eco-Retreat approximately three or four times each year.

The Fiordland weather is extremely unpredictable. We can have hot days in the middle of winter, and cold days in the middle of summer. Spring often brings the wind; autumn is generally more settled. It’s best to expect four seasons in a day! Pack layers, and that way you can always add more clothes / take some off as the weather dictates. Definitely bring a rain jacket for Milford Sound.

It takes a long time to clean to our exceptionally high standards between guests, and we will not know how much cleaning is required on your arrival day until the previous guests have checked out. We are usually therefore unable to confirm an early check-in in advance.

Should the cleaning be completed earlier then our usual check-in time, we will usually send a courtesy message informing guests that the space is ready for early check-in.

Not at all! We always try to keep Cooper, our elderly Border Collie, contained in his rear yard until we have ascertained how guests feel about dogs. If you do not like dogs, it would be greatly appreciated if you could please let us know in advance, although this is not essential!

Cooper is never permitted within the Eco-Retreat itself, but does frequent the garage, in which the laundry facilities are housed.

Please let us know if you do not wish to see him, and we will keep him contained elsewhere, should you wish to use the laundry facilities (housed in our garage).

Our neighbour also has a very friendly dog who does come to visit the Eco-Retreat guests. With advanced notice, I can request that she be contained on their premises during your stay.

Yes, New Zealand has sandflies, but you shouldn’t find them at Fiordland Eco-Retreat. You will, however, find them in both Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound (on land, not while you’re on the water) so do be prepared for this. They’re tiny little black flies, and yes they do bite! Thankfully, their bites do not carry disease.

To prevent sandfly bites, you can definitely opt for insect repellant (some swear by DEET or picaridin-containing formulas), or you could do what I do and just wear long sleeves / trousers and socks. I’ve also heard that they prefer the heat generated by black clothing… although this could be a myth!

Disclaimer: I do usually still get bitten on any skin that’s not covered, but they have always absolutley love me! I’ve found that if you ignore the bite (mind over matter) and don’t scrach it, it goes away pretty quickly. But if you scratch that itch, it could be with you for a good 7 days! Best to try and avioid getting bitten, I’d say…

Yes we absolutely do. We choose these carefully, but would be happy to hear from any potential trade partners.