We had to say goodbye to Stewart Island and catch the 8.00am ferry, thankfully this was a much nicer crossing, just a few little waves that made the ferry bob along quite nicely. I wasn't taking any chances though, I sat in the middle of the ferry at the back where it is less bumpy.
We drove about three hours to a place called Te Anau and the scenery was stunning, so much to Tony’s delight I was kept amused by taking photos, and not doing backseat driving!
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| Big Lorry |
As if I would - er Tony watch out there is a lorry approaching us.
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| Lake Ta Anau |
Te Anau is on the eastern shore of Lake Te Anau and it is very pretty, with the Mt. Luxmore and the Murchison mountains that surround it. Made more spectacular, since we had snow on the top of the mountains. This lake is the largest one in the South Island and the second largest in New Zealand. It is also known as the “Gateway to the fiords”.
It is a very touristy location and it was full of blooming tourists, walking around with their selfie sticks. Young backpackers, that thought they had invented the hippy look! The place had an inordinate number of cars and bodies holding selfie sticks that I almost looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a car… I was overwhelmed, especially after a really quiet location in Stewart Island where you could go for days without seeing a soul (Well, not really, but that’s what it felt like).
The main reason for coming here was to use it as a base to go to Milford Sound. We were going to drive and book the boat cruise separately. After talking to a really helpful tourist advisor we decided on a coach tour and cruise - gulp - I was quickly metamorphosing into a tourist, plus a coach tour! No, I thought, this is OK I can do this. It will be OK.
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| Another view of Lake Ta Anau |
The other reason for staying here was to attempt a short walk on Kepler Track - trust me this is a big track, it can take three days to get round it! we did a fraction of it in three hours.
But that’s another story.
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