Guided day hike on Lake Marian Track
A captivating guided day hike to one of Fiordland’s hidden gems – Lake Marian.
HIKE SUMMARY
Lake Marian Guided Day Walk offers a captivating hike to one of Fiordland’s hidden gems. This full-day experience leads you to Lake Marian, a stunning alpine lake nestled in a hanging valley, surrounded by towering mountains.
We’ll pick you up from your Te Anau accommodation for a scenic drive along the Milford Road, with photo stops in Fiordland National Park. The hike begins with a gentle walk beside cascading waterfalls before ascending through lush forests of fuchsia, ribbonwood, and beech trees.
Enjoy a delightful morning tea with fresh baking and refreshments at a scenic stop. The walk to Lake Marian and back takes around 5 hours, with time to explore the lake’s southern side. If weather affects our time at the lake, we’ll explore other short walks along the Hollyford Valley.
MAP OF HIKE
WHAT’S INCLUDED IN YOUR TOUR
Return transport from Te Anau accomodation
Departs daily from Te Anau Season: October – April
Small group tour Maximum guests: 6
Duration: 8 hours from 8:30am
Includes packed picnic lunch
Morning tea with fresh baking provided
6.5km return, 420m elevation, Moderate fitness required
Suitable for ages 8+
Mark C13/08/2024Recommend, with some tips... Taking the tour from Te Anau so much better than from Queenstown for travel time. Endorse all the usual compliments re great host, small group, comfortable vehicle, good communication during bookings etc... Was a wet and rainy day and would definitely still recommend as a great experience. Dont let weather turn you off. Pre booked lunch was very nice, but best advice would be to pack a lunch (make your own or buy the day before) - only because you could do the same for fraction of cost. Windows fogging up in vehicle was an issue - though hard for operator to manage. We were continuously wiping window to be able to see out window. Take something to manage that. Several stops in National Park there and back added to quality of day. Recommend.
Kari P10/08/2024Marvelous Milford! Fabulous day trip to Milford Sound! Steve was an amazing guide; full of knowledge and extremely friendly. He was an incredibly safe driver which I very much appreciated! Such an amazing small group experience topped off by delicious banana bread and tea at one of our stops. Thank you!!
Michael Lazarus06/08/2024Parrots, Fjords and majestic Mountains Just had the most fantastic day in New Zealand. Tanya picked us up at our motel early this morning and drove us through Fiordland National Park to the incredible Milford Sound. She is so incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the fauna and topography of this region! Greatly enhanced our experience with frequent stops for photos and a once in a lifetime experience with the amazing Kea bird, the only Alpine Parrot, native to this region. These amazing creatures are so inquisitive and intelligent, not to mention magnificent in color. Exceeded our expectations. Boat cruise and packed lunch with added snacks and treats were unexpected but very much appreciated. All in all the best 9 hours we have spent in New Zealand thus far. Highly recommended.
Valdo02/08/2024Unique memories I experienced a tour that was truly one-of-a-kind with Sacha as a guide. Her words were gold, priceless. Thank you again for bringing us to the most magical place on Earth. I hope you’ll beat the world record tomorrow on the 10km! Hope to see you soon again, Valens
Explorer60726224/07/2024Awesome experience Would highly recommend this tour. Was a lovely 15 pax van which was much more personal then a big bus. Steven our driver and guide was so friendly and personal. He introduced everyone to each other at the beginning of the tour and it felt like one big family travelling together. He was very informative and interesting with personal stories and very knowledgeable about the area. We really enjoyed our tour with Steven and the sights are incredibly beautiful. Saw dolphins and seals on the boat which was a bonus to the beautiful landscape.
Secretagentmrchubby23/07/2024A must do experience An absolutely brilliant day out. Superb itinerary. Great guide/driver. Stunning scenery. We were so happy with our choice of company.
sandra c21/07/2024Fabulous day out The coach trip from Te Anau with Stephen was excellent - he was friendly, knowledgeable and full of interesting anecdotes about the area. He was a big part of making the day so memorable. The scenery was breathtaking, both on the drive to and at Milford. The commentary on the boat was hard to hear, unfortunately, but we did stop to see a crested penguin, seals & one of the waterfalls up close. We were a little concerned about coming in the winter but the lack of crowds and the light at this time of year made it spectacular. We would highly recommend this trip.
Claire W19/07/2024Milford Sound Day Tour We had a fantastic trip with Tanya. She was so warm, welcoming and friendly when we first arrived yesterday morning. She was so knowledgable about all the areas we visited, and gave us plenty of time to explore and take pictures. She made us feel safe at all times with the Winter driving conditions. We would highly recommend this tour.
barbara m18/07/2024Best decision we made! Our family had a great day with Jonathan. His knowledge of the local area, history & Māori stories were just as good as the cruise in Milford. It is a long and treacherous drive in winter- and the decision to take a tour rather than drive ourselves was well worth it. We would never have pulled over where Jonathon did and would have missed all the amazing photos, and multiple Keas without his expertise! He (and all the other passengers) were amazing with our 5yo who said “the tour captain” was the best thing about the day- even better than the boat! All the stops were well thought out, the scones were the envy of everyone else during the cruise around Milford. Leaving from Te Anu meant an earlier cruise that misses the large bus groups so plenty of seats and room to see in & out as the dolphins & seals popped up beside the boat. Thank you to Jonathan & all at Fiordland Tours!
Sam H16/07/2024Highly Recommend!! We are so glad that we found this company! We had looked at a lot of other companies (which also looked good), but this one felt like a step above the rest. Our guide Tania (apologies if I am misspelling your name) was an all-time great and someone my wife and I will be talking about for a long time. She was incredibly knowledgeable, full of interesting stories, a great conversationalist, and a very safe driver (not to be overlooked in winter conditions). Going from Te Anau (rather than Queenstown) meant you could stop at more spots throughout the day and therefore see a lot more. Tania even made time for an afternoon coffee/tea break that she set up at a beautiful lookout site. The provided lunches were also good and hefty. On the boat ride on Milford Sound, we saw lots of dolphins and our boat captain, Brad, was also quite knowledgeable and friendly. We had an amazing time and we can’t recommend this tour enough! Thank you for everything!
