Deer Valley Camp, Eglinton Valley

Tucked beneath the Earl Mountains along the grand avenue of the Milford Highway in Fiordland National Park are a remarkable series of road side campsites.

These camps are found throughout the length of the Eglinton Valley, that beautiful forested, lake-speckled catchment that passes southwards from The Divide to empty into Lake Te Anau near the starting point to the Milford Track.

As the river passes from grassy flat to grassy flat, short access roads have been created to take campers, fishers, and day trippers away from the highway into the peace and serenity of the valley where the road noise cannot penetrate and the majesty of Fiordland is powerfully present.

If you pick the weather carefully, camping here is sheer pleasure, made more so by the idyllic setting where you may nestle your tent under the trees beside a deep, green river pool with soft earth beneath your feet and acres of grassy terrace and deep forest to explore.

Come evening or early morning, as the light disperses over the flats and the ragged backs of the mountains etch against the sky, there is time to marvel at the beauty of the setting where a leafy glade and a small tent combine to make a home for the wanderer.