TE ANAU

WEDNESDAY 4th MAY

  I set off from the motel in Invercargill just after 9.00am bound for Te Anau.  I stopped at a signpost for the "Wilderness" not far from my destination.  There was low cloud all round so visibilty wasn't that good.  However I had a look around and according to the noticeboard this is what New Zealand looked like some 80,000 years ago.

 There was just one break in the cloud on the way, but sadly it didn't last long, but long enough for me to take a shot from the car as I rolled along highway 94.  I had turned off highway 6 in Lumsden and there were very few cars and lorries on this road compared to the others I had travelled on in the last couple of days.

I got to Te Anau before midday and went to the Real Excursions office at the top of the main thoroughfare, backing onto the lake.  All that could be seen on the other side of the lake were trees and cloud.  They confirmed my bookings and arranged to pick me up from the motel which can't be more than about 400yds from their office.  I then went for a stroll around the town, or more accurately walked up and down the one main street in town.

 To my amazement I found a secondhand book shop cum CD/DVD shop which kept me busy for a while.  I duly found a book for 30/-, and a Johnny Cash CD/DVD and a Best Of The Isley Brothers double at £6.00 each.  I boughtsome postcards and stamps and went back to write cards to the grandchildren.  I then walked

up the other end of the main street to the Post Office to post the cards.  I then dropped into one of the many earteries in town and had a Lamb Bomber.  A long toasted roll filled with lamb, onions and mint sauce with gravy all over it.  Very nice! 

On the way back to the Alpine Way Motel (above), I purchased a sandwich and a pack of Steinlargers before returning to the motel for an active evening on the computer and watching the latest news on the Osama execution.  Wonder of wonders I have a bath for the next three days and I intend to use it shortly!