Parking
Use the signed Homer Tunnel parking area and pull-offs on the east (Milford Sound) side of the tunnel, then follow the East Homer Nature Walk path.
Overview
About East Homer Nature Walk
Why go
- Easy alpine leg-stretcher while waiting at the tunnel lights
- Self-guiding cards and native alpine flora
- Kea are often seen near the tunnel, with occasional rock wren sightings
Heads up
- Fiordland weather can turn wet and cold quickly
- Traffic queues and curious kea can make the parking area busy
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Fiordland map
Full mapElevation939–947 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Fiordland Tour Guide
Your drive to East Homer Nature Walk, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Fiordland National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Fiordland audio tourRecorded for this area
Pīwauwau/Rock Wren: The Alpine SurvivorListen
“Up here in the boulderfields, keep an eye out for a tiny bird bouncing between the rocks. That's the pīwauwau, or rock wren, New Zealand's only true alpine bird.”
Plays on the road 0.6 km from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Fiordland Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Homer Tunnel: Gateway to Milford Sound
- Say It Right: Pronouncing Māori Place Names
- Southern Skies Over Fiordland
- Why Fiordland's Water Changes Color
- 126 audio storiesacross Fiordland’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Kea, Fiordland Penguin, Blue Duck, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 68 trails, 124 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking East Homer Nature Walk
What to expectEast Homer Nature Walk is an easy out-and-back from the Homer Tunnel parking area on the…
East Homer Nature Walk is an easy out-and-back from the Homer Tunnel parking area on the eastern (Milford Sound) side of the tunnel. The mapped trail corridor is about 0.28 miles one way; allow about 20 minutes and roughly 0.57 miles total for the return walk. It is a short alpine leg-stretcher with minimal elevation change, ideal while waiting for tunnel traffic.
What you'll seeSelf-guiding cards explain the environment along the path.
Self-guiding cards explain the environment along the path. Alpine buttercups (also called Mount Cook lilies), daisies, native alpine shrubs, and tussocks grow among the large boulders. The surrounding walls and hanging valleys show the glacial character of Fiordland, while kea are often around the tunnel. Occasionally you may hear or glimpse a rare rock wren among the boulders. Do not feed kea, and secure loose gear around these curious birds.
Access and conditionsUse the signed parking and pull-offs near the east portal, and obey the tunnel traffic lights…
Use the signed parking and pull-offs near the east portal, and obey the tunnel traffic lights and any road controls. The walk is short and easy, but Fiordland weather changes quickly; carry warm, waterproof layers and expect damp or slippery surfaces after rain or snow. This is a roadside nature walk, not a backcountry route.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Fiordland
1,181 sightingsKeaMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
199 sightingsFiordland PenguinMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
228 sightingsBlue DuckMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
32 sightingsBottlenose DolphinMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
247 sightingsNew Zealand Fur SealMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
58 sightingsKākāMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Fiordland. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
