New Zealand Milky Way at Gertrude Saddle, Fiordland National Park

On a good weather day Gertrude Saddle offers epic views into the valley till Milford Sound. The hike by itself is a beautiful walk through a green valley. Once you reach the point where it goes up there is coming a lake half way where you can take a cold bath.

Check your camera settings before the evening and make sure you understand everything for night photography. Use a tripod, the manual focus, put of the stabilization, and use the lowest aperture. In comparison to this you can try out what ISO fits to the shutter speed. Use not longer than 20 seconds for stars cause they are slowly moving.

Place a small light in the tent.

This 8,4 km out-and-back trail with around 663 meter of elevation is a challenging hike and requires a certain level of fitness. Here it is super important that the weather is not just stable during the day but also the previous day and the day after as well. Once the hike is leading up to the Saddle you hike on sometimes dry out river steams / waterfalls. So please double check the weather in this region.

Left and right from the Saddle are around 4 good camping spots, where you can set up your gear.