Te Anau

No that's not a model - it's the wee heli we took to the sound
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Te Anau is even quieter than Wanaka, but is the main entry point for a number of the Great Walks and Fjordland in general and we really enjoyed it here. It sits on Lake Te Anau which is the second largest fresh water lake and one of the deepest lakes in NZ at 1,350 ft deep. We chose to stay here for a few nights to ensure that we could see Doubtful Sound, the quieter sister sound to Milford (which we had already experienced on our walk). Doubtful Sound is also the second largest fjord here in NZ.

Takahe bird
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We debated the method in which we would experience the fjord – perhaps by kayak or boat cruise? In the end we found that you could take a helicopter ride for one hour which really intrigued us. We’d already seen the Milford Sound via foot/cruise and seeing Doubtful Sound by air really sounded fabulous. As a fellow traveler once said – “you may only pass through here once”. Although it was a splurge, we booked it! It was worth it. It seemed that the fjords went on forever. The views were fantastic and seeing all of the lakes on top of the mountains that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to see was so cool. You also get a great appreciation for Lake Manapouri which is also quite beautiful and also carved from a glacier. We even made two stops along the way – one in a great canyon (Kings Canyon) and another on top of Mt. Kidd.

don't Doubt the Sound.....

Views along a portion of the Kepler Track
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The remainder of our time here was spent hiking on a portion of the Kepler Track to Lake Manapouri, a stroll through the wildlife sanctuary to see some of the wounded and/or endangered bird species here in NZ, and watching a short documentary type film on the fjordlands which was well worth it. It’s so amazing to find out about the unusual bird species in New Zealand. Besides the Kea (the alpine parrot) which we had the pleasure of meeting on our walk earlier, we also learned about the Takahe – which is another flightless bird with a large red beak and beautiful blue/green feathers. They were thought to have become extinct until someone discovered some in the 40’s in one of the mountain regions so an effort has been underway to bring the population numbers back. Being in NZ certainly has made me want to be more of a bird watcher!!

Look mom - no hands !! (our creative pic of the day)
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Next, we sadly move out of Fjordland and over to the East coast town of Dunedin…..

Tidbit of the Day:

Doubtful Sound (as is the case with Milford Sound) has a unique mix of saltwater on the bottom covered by a layer of 3-4 meters of fresh water on top from all of the rainwater and snow melt. The tannin-stained freshwater layer makes the water dark quickly which fools flora and fauna underwater thinking that it is deeper than it really is. Therefore, you can find black coral and other aquatic life at relatively shallow depths. Apparently, the scuba diving is quite something in both sounds due to this type of environment.