Te Anau is only a small town, and it is mainly used as a base for people who want to go to Milford Sound. We’re no different, but as there isn’t much to do unless you want to walk by the lake (which is pretty difficult when you have someone with severe arthritis), we ended up wandering the town looking for tat and souvenirs for family and friends. Dot bought some kiwi chocolate which we all ate the minute we sat down.In the evening we visited the famous Te Anau Glow worm caves (another monopoly tick). I suppose I was expecting a little bit too much when I thought the aforementioned glow worms would light up the cave like a 40Watt bulb. For the past couple of weeks since I’ve known that I’d be coming to these caves I’ve been a bit thick. Why would some tiny glow worms light up a cave like Blackpool illuminations’? They wouldn’t would they? The main reason for this would be that they’re tiny little worms, and not light bulbs.
WEDNESDAY 27TH MAY
A nice early start today: this seems to have become a rare occurrence since Porgy and Bess have been with us, as they both like to lie in bed all morning. Anyway I digress. We’re off to the spectacular Milford Sound in the New Zealand Fiordlands. We’re on a bus trip with a load of strangers, some token Japs and a tour guide who looks like he’s been shot in the face or mauled by a bear and then had his face patched up by a blind man. All that being said he’s a very good tour guide. On the way to Milford the only thing we pass that we learn anything about is the Homer Tunnel. The tunnel itself took 18 years to complete and this seems a pretty long time, even for the thirties and forties when it was built. When you realise that it has quite a big slope and goes through a mountain, then maybe the time scale is justified. We arrived at Milford Sound and headed for our ferry. Even from the quay you can see how spectacular it looks, although it’s nothing compared to when you’re actually sailing through it.I don’t think there are any adjectives that can describe Milford Sound in such a way that you realise its beauty and size, but here are a few that are still a way off the mark; Vast, mesmerizing, calm, and exposed. On the way back we stopped at the wonderfully named Mirror Lakes, where you could see a perfect reflection of the mountains. We also stopped at a place called The Chasm, which did exactly what it said on the tin.
THURSDAY 28TH MAY
Our last day in Te Anau was spent trying to organise The Two Ronnie’s. Between them, they have no idea where they’ve been or where they’re going. Today we’re going to Queenstown, and when we told Butch and Sundance they said, ‘Oh, Ok. What’s there to do there?’ Now I’
m not being funny, but this is Queenstown, New Zealand, extreme sports capital of the world. But if you go around with your head in the clouds like these pair, then you’re not going to know that are you? On the way out of Te Anau, I got my picture took with a statue of a stag. I don’t know why I just thought it would look good. As it turns out it doesn’t, as you can see.We arrived in Queenstown early afternoon and the place seemed a little bit subdued. It might be because the snow season hasn’t quite kicked off yet but we’ll see. We all had a walk round to check out some of the sights and sounds and see how much money we could spend. As it turns out you can spend a fortune here as predicted. Flash wants to do the 134m (440ft) bungy and it’s NZ$240 for the privilege. I’m thinking about doing it, but that’s about probably as far as I’ll get with it, thinking.
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