Timing

There’s a large parking area on the roadside, which between 9.30 am and 11.30 am is thronged with coaches disgorging their clients onto the walkway. Best arrive early in the morning to benefit from the still conditions and avoid the crowds in a hurry to get to their Milford cruise and return to Queenstown.

Access

Mirror Lakes are signposted 57 km from Te Anau along the Milford Road.

Track

The walkway was reopened in December of 2005 and is a showpiece construction in DoC’s portfolio. Colourful and informative interpretation panels have been designed to impart the maximum amount of information, not just on the Mirror Lakes, but on the work of the glaciers and ecosystems of the Eglinton Valley.

Geology

A clever DoC sign is written in mirror writing so that when the lakes area absolutely calm, the word ‘Mirror Lakes’ appears readable in the reflection on the water.

The gin-clear pools are actually the abandoned course of the Eglinton River, as it weaves along the flat base of the glaciated valley.

The Eglinton Valley is around 40 km long and is a classic glaciated U-shaped valley with broad grassy river flats and a meandering braided river. The beech forest borders the valley floor, but does not extend into it because of the severe frosts encountered in winter. The valley floor was farmed from 1859 as part of Te Anau Downs Station and has only recently reverted back to a more natural form.

Fauna

The lakes are home to New Zealand scaups, long-finned eels and kokopu.

During the summer months, life is prolific, with myriad bird species exploiting the productive forest edge for insects. The area is known for its population of mohua or yellow head and bats. Intensive predator control measures are being implemented by DoC to preserve these rare remnant populations. Other significant populations include South Island kaka, South Island robins, New Zealand falcons, and yellow-crowned parakeets.