new zealand 2007 - day 4

Quietly packing our stuff into The Tomato, we tried our best not to wake the other people in the campground, dorm rooms, and motel rooms. Pulling out of the Holiday Park at 6:10 am in the dark, we were headed for Te Anau, via breathtaking Mount Aspiring National Park and the idyllic town of Wanaka. Since we had covered some of the distance the day before, we had time for some short road-side hikes to see pretty Fantail Falls and the Blue Pools in Mount Aspiring. Both hikes involved walking through dark, dense forests before opening up to glowing azure streams full of glacial flour. As we crossed the suspension bridge on the way to the Blue Pools, we spied a large trout swimming lazily in the stream below. By 9:40 we arrived in Wanaka and decided to stop for brekkie.

Wanaka is one of my favorite towns on the South Island (Glenorchy being the other favorite). The town sits on the shores of Lake Wanaka, which is ringed with sheer peaks plunging into the waters. There are pretty store fronts that face the lake and nice walking paths in between where art exhibits go on display and tiles along the paths recount past events in history. We picked up a couple of meat pies and then procured a coffee for Jeremy and a juice for me. Jeremy says the coffee in New Zealand is first rate.

It was a short stop - not more than 30 minutes and we resumed our drive to Te Anau. The weather grew windy and we encountered scattered showers on the road. We reach the Department of Conservation (DOC) office in Te Anau by 1:30 and squared away our permits for the Kepler Track. The weather report said it was very windy up high with poor visibility. The forecast for the next day read "Fine Weather" and the day after "Fine". We checked into the Alpenhorn Motel, where we had stayed in the past, and then had a horrible lunch at The Moose. After purchasing groceries, washing clothes, and packing our gear, we picked up a dish of takeout from China City that was actually quite good and fresh. We went to bed by 10:30 as we had a big first day on the Kepler.