Te Anau New Zealand

Te Anau is a town situated on yep you guessed it, the shore of another lake.  Lake Te Anau is the largest lake on the south island in the Fiordland area. With only a couple of thousand inhabitants there is in fact over 4000 beds available in the summer season for visitors.

The town is a peaceful affair and fortunately they haven’t been tempted to build lots of places next to the waters edge. Its all very natural, open and always views of the lake from the edge of town.

te anau

te anau

A good reason to come to Te Anua is that its closer to Milford Sound, a very picturesque part of the south island which really is a must see place.  Most people either travel from Queenstown or Te Anua to get there but travelling from Te Anua shaves another 4 hours from the round trip.

The trip leaves town and takes a couple of hours climbing mountains, following rivers, going through tunnels, all to get to the inlet of Milford Sound.

On the way we stopped at Mirror lakes, the water so still it reflects the mountains behind. Nobody though had told the two ducks who were paddling about and causing the water to ripple so much nothing could be seen. The large group of Asian tourists didn’t really understand what they were looking at and for once their cameras stayed in their pockets. Being the cunning man that I am I searched for some food crumbs in the bottom of my bag and in my pockets and soon tempted the ducks way from the center of the pond.

mirror lakes

mirror lakes

Scenary on the way to Milford Sound –

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A native bird of New Zealand – the Kea, the worlds only Alpine parrot !! These guys can strip the windscreen rubber from your car in a few minutes !!

kea

Milford Sound blog to follow shortly !!

Te Anua Verdict – a small town away from the maddening crowds (not that NZ has many of those) but a great place to stop off, relax, recharge and head for Milford Sound.

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