Te Anua -- Gateway to Fiordland National Park

Our descent into Queenstown amidst a vast display of very rugged mountains was our first view of the renowned south island.  The airfield is tucked between mountain ranges and must require a bit of skill for landing.  We exited the plane right on the tarmac and immediately boarded a bus for  Te Anua which would be our base for our first excursions.  The views were incredible, the road very windy at points, the lakes breathtaking as we entered New Zealand's largest national park.

We walked around Lake Te Anua and enjoyed viewing local wild birds at the Bird Reserve.  Te Anua is a beautiful little town with cafes and stores along a quaint street and just steps from this beautiful Lake.

Lake Manapouri is claimed by some to be the most beautiful lake in New Zealand.  We crossed this lake before driving over Wilmot Pass to our Doubtful Sound cruise.  It was chilly and just spectacular.
At this point it is important to emphasize that all these pictures do not do justice to the overwhelming vastness of nature's paintbrush here on the south island.  It is gobsmackingly impressive!

David in the tunnel which leads to the Manapouri hydro power station which is underground in a cavern 200 meters below the surface of Lake Manapouri.  So we not only traveled through Wilmot Pass, we also bused down under the mountain.  Needless to say, just getting to the cruise was a whole experience in itself.  David was totally in his element.

These are the 7 underground generators --- yes we were way underground -------

                      View of Doubtful Sound from the top of Wilmot Pass ----- Beauty beyond words

The following pictures are from the cruise ship ----- I'll let the pictures do the talking -------  spectacular fiords, bush-clad hills backed by mountains -----

This is a small permanent waterfall.  Because we had a beautiful clear day--- 1 of 8 for the year --- we did not get to view all the temporary weather related waterfalls that usually pour along the fiords.  Apparently 2 out of 3 days a year rain and the others are usually cloudy.  So we had a very unusual day which allowed our cruise to go further than normal.

                                         Fur seals lounging on the rocks and enjoying their sunny day

That's just a taste of Doubtful Sound.

Our next day was an equally breathtaking day.  When we arrived in Te Anua we checked out the i site and decided to take a water taxi across Lake Te Anua to Brod Bay which is the start of the Kepler Track.  Recommended highly by David's colleague and described by the locals as one of the most spectacular hikes we decided to give it a go.  We were able to hike straight up, past the bush line up the grand Mount Luxmore.

Crossing Lake Te Anua

Through the gentle beech forests

Along the ridge

The mighty Kepler Mountains

Majestic Views

Tea Time at Luxmore Hut

Reunited with my friend after a spectacular day of hiking.

That ends the  first stage of our adventures on the south island ---- stay tuned for more  of this incredible trip-----