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Voykit pocket guide · New Zealand
Mossburn
Stop for 45–60 min on the SH 94 run to Te Anau: deer statue, coffee, fuel. Sleep here only if Te Anau and Lumsden are full.
Mossburn is a 180-person service town on SH 94, the road between Gore/Lumsden and Te Anau, and the gateway turn for SH 97 to Five Rivers and SH 6. It has one real sight (the White Hill wind farm), two cafés, a hotel and a country park. Treat it as a leg-stretch and fuel stop, or a cheap bed when Fiordland is booked out.
- Country
- New Zealand
- Best months
- Nov–Apr (long days, road trips); Feb–Apr for settled weather
- Avoid
- Jun–Aug (cold, short days, ice on SH 94); avoid the Christmas–January peak if you need a bed
- Stay
- 0–1 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- NZD
- Money
- Currency is the New Zealand dollar (NZD, NZ$). Cards and phone payments are accepted almost everywhere; some small rural stalls and honesty boxes are cash.
- Daily spend
- Budget NZ$80–130 excl. bed · Mid NZ$130–220 excl. bed · High NZ$220+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- One NZ, Spark and 2degrees sell tourist SIMs at Auckland and Christchurch arrivals and in supermarkets; passport not required.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 111 · Non-urgent police 105 · Traffic *555
- Plugs
- Types I · 230 V · 50 Hz · Same angled two- or three-pin plug as Australia, Fiji and China; switch the socket on at the wall.
- Tipping
- Café or restaurant: Nothing expected; 10% for very good service at dinner is a bonus.; Taxi / Uber: Nothing; round up if you like.; Guide or tour: Optional NZ$10–20 for a day guide.; Hotel: Nothing.; Public holidays: Cafés may add a 10–15% holiday surcharge to the bill; it is legal and shown on menus.
- Water
- Tap water is safe almost everywhere; follow boil-water notices in small rural schemes. Treat stream water in the backcountry.
- Toilets
- Free public toilets in every town and at most lookouts; DOC long-drops on tracks. Carry paper; never use the roadside.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | NZ$5–7 |
| Café lunch or pie | NZ$12–25 |
| Pub dinner main | NZ$25–40 |
| Motel or hotel double room | NZ$130–260 |
| Fuel, 91 octane | About NZ$2.50–3.00/L |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | NZ$20–50 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- ZQN · Queenstown Airport
- About 2 h 15 min by road via SH 6 and SH 97
- IVC · Invercargill Airport
- About 1 h 45 min by road via SH 1 and SH 94
Typical fares
- Mossburn → Te Anau by car
- about 55 km (34 mi), 45 min, fuel about NZ$10–15about 34 mi (55 km), 45 min, fuel about NZ$10–15
- Mossburn → Queenstown by car
- about 160 km (99 mi), 2 h 15 minabout 99 mi (160 km), 2 h 15 min
- Coach Gore → Te Anau
- confirm a Mossburn stop when booking
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
You need a car. The town is a short strip on SH 94; everything is walkable in 5 min. No public transport serves Mossburn — InterCity and other coaches run the Gore–Te Anau line but confirm a stop when booking. Fuel before Te Anau: the next reliable stations are in Lumsden and Te Anau.
See and do
Known for
- Deer statue and deer-farming history
- White Hill Wind Farm
- SH 94 / SH 97 junction
- Gateway to Te Anau and Fiordland
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Te Anau and Lake Te Anau | SH 94 west, about 55 km (34 mi)SH 94 west, about 34 mi (55 km) | About 45 min |
| Manapouri | SH 94 to Te Anau, then SH 95 south | About 1 h 10 min |
| Lumsden | SH 94 east, about 30 km (19 mi)SH 94 east, about 19 mi (30 km) | About 25 min |
| Gore | SH 94 east, about 80 km (50 mi)SH 94 east, about 50 mi (80 km) | About 1 h |
| Milford Sound | SH 94 via Te Anau and the Homer Tunnel | About 3 h |
| Queenstown | SH 97 northeast to SH 6, then via Kingston | About 2 h 15 min |
Sleep
- Devon Street / town centre
- The two cafés, the deer statue and the hotel are all within a 2-min walk.
- Mossburn Country Park (Five Rivers Road)
- Rural stay about 4 km (2.5 mi) northeast of town; own transport needed.Rural stay about 2.5 mi (4 km) northeast of town; own transport needed.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Thank you | Thank you |
| Kia ora (hello) | Kia orakee-ah or-ah |
| Where is the toilet? | Where is the toilet? |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card? |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Kia ora or a handshake; first names from the start; avoid: Formal titles; overlong small talk before business
- Marae visit: Wait to be called on, follow your guide through the pōwhiri, remove shoes before the meeting house; avoid: Eating or drinking inside the wharenui; walking in front of speakers
- Tables and heads: Keep bottoms off tables and hats off tables; food stays away from heads; avoid: Sitting on tables or kitchen benches; touching people's heads
- Roads: Pull over at slow-vehicle bays to let queues pass; wave thanks; avoid: Stopping on the road for photos; drifting right after a stop
- Outdoors: Carry out all rubbish; use toilets; stick to tracks; avoid: Feeding kea and other birds; toileting outside
- Talk: Self-deprecating humour and understatement; avoid: Calling New Zealanders Australians; boasting
- Home visit: Bring wine or something to share; shoes off if the hosts do; avoid: Arriving empty-handed to a 'bring a plate' event
- Names: Use Māori place names and pronounce them with care; avoid: Joking about Māori words or haka
Scams and watch-outs
- Fuel is limited in town; fill at Lumsden or Te Anau if unsure.
- SH 94 and SH 97 are open roads with stock, logging trucks and one-lane bridges; frost and ice in winter.
- Cell coverage is patchy on the SH 97 and SH 6 stretches; download offline maps.
- No supermarket: the nearest full grocery is in Te Anau or Lumsden.
Very safe for a small rural town; the real risks are the road (ice, stock, trucks, one-lane bridges) and driving tired on the Te Anau run. No 24-hour services.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Mossburn yet. Suggested stay: 0–1 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Deer statue and deer-farming history
- White Hill Wind Farm
- SH 94 / SH 97 junction
- Gateway to Te Anau and Fiordland
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Southland regional tourism: www.southlandnz.com/
- Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency — SH 94: www.nzta.govt.nz/
- Wikivoyage: Mossburn, revision 4903887 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=4903887
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Mossburn
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Mossburn; nearest consulates are in Auckland and Wellington. Australian and UK consular help: check the official lists.
Fuel up before the Te Anau stretch; services are thin after dark.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/mossburn). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.