Te Anau

November 21st – Te Anau

After leaving the hostel, I had no idea how long this walking adventure would be. After a late start to the notion of hiking, I thought better than to tackle the tricky, challenging part of the Kepler Track up to Luxmore Hut. I instead ventured along the path along Lake Te Anau out to the Wildlife Bird Centre, which houses some of the native birds of the region; weka, takahe, kea, mountain parrots. Onward to the control gates between Lake Te Anau & Lake Manapouri, controlling the level of the Upper Waiau River. I continued on down the Kepler Track section to Rainbow Reach swingbridge, nice even bush walk. With so many shades of vibrant green; the Southern Beech trees, the fern bushes, flax & so much moss on everything. With nearly 6-8m of raining falling annually in the area it is no wonder that everything is green & lush with growth & life. As I walked, I listened to ducks & other birds calling to each other, rushing water of the quick moving & rapids of the Upper Waiau River. One of the best parts of the walk is the creaking, cracking & knocking of the trees in the breeze along with the feeling of having the whole track to yourself, only occasionally running into fellow trampers carrying on their way. The Kepler track is a 60km loop with huts along the way for trekkers to camp out at. I looped back on the Control Gates to Rainbow Reach section, 19km in total, & my legs told me to keep going so I headed out to Brod Bay, 11km in total. This section followed the edge & bays of Lake Te Anau & allowed me to hear the lapping of the waves on the shore through most of this journey. The walk from town out to the Control Gates & return is 7km……. yep, so 37km in total. Ha Guess I should have just done the hike out to Luxmore Hut & back, it would have only been 27km in total. It was well worth it & to top it off the white puffy clouds with pockets of rain streaming down in the sun led to a truly great rainbow.



November 22nd – Te Anau

On this day……….. I rested . I walked around the town of Te Anau which thank goodness did not take long. Oh but good news, my nails are long enough so I got a fantastic manicure & read my book along the waters edge. A lovely restful day.