NZ: Manipouri to Te Anau

December 31, 2011

Our 5am wakeup call was actually a blessing in disguise because we go to see the beautiful morning mist over the lake and the mountains.

On our sleepy drive back to Manipouri we saw tons of eagles and rabbits (many were roadkill), and the sunrise.

Our kayak trip started at 7:20am, so we promptly met our guide Harlan (who was awesome) and boarded our first motor boat of the day.  We were offered tea and coffee as we sped across Lake Manipouri and took in the stunning views.

Once we reached the end of the lake and disembarked, we were instructed to put on our swimsuits, then a special sweater, then a wetsuit, and finally a horrible plastic shirt overtop of everything.  We were dressed for success!

Next, the group boarded a bus for a 40 minute mountain drive to get to Milford Sound (which is actually a fiord, not a sound).  The road was private and not accessible to the public, so the people who use it have permits and pay for all maintenance, making the trip very remote.

After all of that, we were finally able to get into some kayaks.  Coordinating 7 kayaks was quite chaotic, but we figured it out eventually and began our voyage.

Typically the area would be very wet and full of waterfalls and clouds since it's a rainforest, but we were actually there during a warm, dry spell, so it was incredibly sunny and hot without a cloud in the sky.  Since nothing particularly exciting happened I will mostly narrate the rest with picture - which unfortunately didn't turn out great.

Lunch was on the boat.  We packed our own food, but they also provided some hot chicken soup.  Since it was so warm, everyone stripped down to their bathing suits, but we had to leave on the plastic shirt.

By the end of the day we had kayaked 14km.  It didn't feel that far since the pace was nice and slow, but that's what the GPS said.  We only kayaked one way, then the motor boat came and picked us and the kayaks up.  With all of the kayaks safely aboard, we all cooled off with an amazing swim.  For me this was the highlight; I had been dying to get in the water all day!

After a sleepy boat/bus/boat ride back to Manipouri, we drove to Te Anau and had a panic about food.  We weren't sure if anything would be open on New Years Day so we stocked up on groceries.  We weren't happy with the campsite we had picked, so we drove back to our other option: Henry River at Lake Te Anau.  This site was next to the lake and even had a picnic table, so we feasted on pasta and wine.  Happy New Year!