Te Anau to Dunedin

We packed up and left Te Anau and headed to Dunedin.  We decided to go the (very) long way through Bluff as apparently it is 46" South and is the oldest European settled town in New Zealand.

When we woke up the day was absolutely beautiful with hardly a cloud in the sky so we decided to take advantage and and takes some photos before we left Lake Te Anau.

We headed through some beautiful countryside and after an ice cream stop made it to Invercargill.  As we were on a bit of time frame we didn't stop in the town but just kept on going to Bluff. 

We knew that there was a big Aluminium smelter at Bluff but we didn't expect it to be quite so big - and we were surprised by the smell! 

The town however has some picturesque spots.  

From Bluff we headed East and went through the countryside to Gore. 

Then we continued on and on ... it felt like forever!

As we got closer to Dunedin we noticed that there was some significant flooding in the fields - it has clearly been raining in these parts. 

And as we got on the highway into Dunedin there was some significant fog/mist covering the city!

Finally we arrived at our destination.  The Brothers Boutique Hotel.  

The building used to house the Christian Brothers that taught at the school but has now been converted into a hotel.  It has some beautiful outlooks over the city when there isn't any fog and mist. 

Doubtful Sound

The reason why we came to Te Anua was to visit Doubtful Sound.

Doubtful Sound is very large and natural fjord.  It is far bigger than its counterpart Milford Sound but not as famous.

To get to Doubtful Sound you first travel about 15 minutes from Te Anau to Lake Manapouri, and from there you jump on a boat to cross the lake.

The boat took us across the Lake to the visitors center and the Lake Manapouri Power Station which we are going to see on the way back. 

From here we hop on a bus to travel over the Wilmot Pass to Deep Cove where we enter Doubtful Sound. 

The view from the top of Wilmot Pass to Doubtful Sound is stunning and thankfully we have a bit more blue sky! 

Then to Deep Cove and on the boat that takes us through Doubtful Sound....

We were very lucky as because the weather was so good we were able to go out of the Sound and into the Pacific Ocean and see Doubtful Sound exactly the way Captain Cook saw it.  

We also got to see Seals and an Albatross. 

When we came back into the Sound we went down Crooked Arm which is a much smaller part of Doubtful Sound and because it is protected from the wind and the sea swell it is so quiet and so still.  The reflections in the water are breathtaking. 

Once we have finished out trip on the Sound we head back over Wilmot Pass and to the Lake Manapouri Power Station. 

The Lake Manapouri Power Station has a really interesting history .... but I will leave you to read that here if you want to. 

The tour however took us 193 meters under ground down a winding tunnel - as long as you didn't think about it too much it wasn't scary.

This model is to scale and we were right down in that yellow bit at the bottom!!

After our huge day we headed back to Te Anau.  We were lucky to catch a beautiful sunset before we turned in for the night as tomorrow we are on the road again. 

Queenstown to Te Anau

We grabbed a car and left Queenstown by mid morning.  Our first stop was breakfast and for this we headed to Arrowtown.  We had seen a advert on TV for this French cafe Bon Jour and they served crepes!

We also brought some fresh French bread and cheese for lunch on the go... 

Arrowtown was really very sweet.  It is small and is only about 20 minutes from Queenstown so there is a lot of commuting people that live here. It was touristy but in a really nice, cute way.

The wonderful J and I found loads of things that we could have easily taken home but this one: the Spitfire chair we will be sourcing as soon as we get home - we are in love.

From Arrowtown we traveled through amazing countryside following the edge of a big lake.  The low cloud was slowly burning off, and it was an impressive sight.

There are so many Deer farms in this area - they out number the sheep!

We then hit the countryside and this is just beautiful.  The country kept getting greener and more beautiful as we headed down the island. And the sky got bluer!

It was in a place called Athos that we got our first NZ ice cream.  We have been here over a week and this is our first! This is unheard of for me as I have been known to just skip the meal and have the ice cream instead, but it was worth the wait.

Yes these are single cones!

Te Anau was a bit of surprise - it is a relatively dead town really and bizarrely had five Italian restaurants! However it sits on the edge of a very large and beautiful lake.

We finished off our day with a trip out to see the Glow Worm caves.  This is a trip in a boat across Lake Te Anau and then a walk and a boat ride to the underground grotto.   

These are not our photos as we couldn't take any photos (photos from google images), but it will give you an idea of what it was like.  It was an  amazing sight to see......