Travelogue

Camping in Te AnauGlendhu Bay was a good decision. Otherwise, we would have had an extremely stressful 5 hour challenging drive to Milford Sound the following day.

Even our 3 hour drive to Te Anau was very stressful in that Google Maps directed us over the Crown Range to get to Queenstown, a highly scenic, but highly steep and stressful road. In fact, we later found out that campervans were not even supposed to be on this road.

It had been a long day, starting in Glendhu Bay, then e-biking from Lake Hawea to Lake Wanaka, and now here we were in the lovely town of Te Anau, the gateway to Fiordland National Park.

Set on the shores of lovely Lake Te Anau, it is a destination in itself, but for us it was just a convenient stopover on our way to Milford Sound.

Sea plane on Lake Te AnauWe stayed in a Top 10 Holiday Park, kind of like the KOAs of New Zealand - clean, great facilities, etc.

We didn’t have much time here, so all we did was take a walk down to and along the lake, which is the largest in the South Island.

There were sea planes in the lake and helicopters on docks along the shoreline. Every town on the South Island has its share of aerial tours. It’s a great way to see the Southern Alps. We would have our chance of a helicopter ride to a glacier when we got to Fox Glacier.

The next morning it was on to Milford Sound, where the drive alone was supposed to be one of the most beautiful in New Zealand.