Intro to the rainy Fiordland
Trip Start
Jan 11, 2009
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13
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Trip End
Apr 12, 2009
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Te Anau,
South Island,
New Zealand
Sunday, January 25, 2009
of Te Anua . We didn't make stops on the way since it was rainy, and most of the views
were of farmland.
Te Anua is at the head of the Te Anua Lake and the starting point for many multi -day
treks. We could not do something that hard core, so we just did a few hours on one of
the famous hikes called the Kepler Track
1
. It was a magical walk along a river, with moss-covered trees all around. Absolutely lovely forest. We actually didn't get very
far since we were taking photos every few steps along the way. The warning signs were
interesting - "River rises suddenly ". Kind of scary, but we were not going to be there
long. Later we found out that this was the spillway for the lake, which can raise up to
3 FEET (1 meter) overnight if there is a lot of rain.
One of the recommended things to do here is a boat to a glow worm cave across the lake.
Due to A2's severe motion sickness we had to work out a lot of logistics. Type of boat
and time to destination were all essential in figuring out the vomit scale
2
. Luckily it was the catamaran type boat and a 25 minute ride so the fish had only a fair chance of
getting a snack of ground up pizza and sprite. (was a meat lovers pizza too! poor fish)
A2 survived the trip to the cave and was actually in good spirits on the way there. The
glow worm cave was incredible. We got to hike into the cave, and see all the waterfalls
and rushing streams in dim lighting . Then, we got into a small boat and were taken into
a totally dark tunnel by a guide. We moved upriver in total silence towards the glow
worms.
We reached the glow worms and although you are instructed to be silent neither of us
would have uttered a word. You feel like you're in another world or in outer space,
looking at galaxies you've never seen before
3
. It brings a tear to your eye to see these creatures. We were stunned at how beautiful it was. No photos allowed, sorry!
A2 almost made it back OK on the boat, but started to falter once we reached land again.
Thankfully there was nothing in the stomach to actually hurl, so the sickies did not last
long. But, that confirmed that there will be no more boat rides on this trip!
To top off the amazing day, we had a gorgeous sunset on the Te Anua Lake. Lovely!!
