Te Anau and Routeburne Track

To get to Milford Sound, you have to first go south through Te Anau, which is the gateway to the Fiordland and the place to get gas and food beforehand. (Then to get to Queenstown, you still have to go back through Te Anau.)



We took a leisurely drive from Dunedin to Te Anau and spent the night there. But because it stays light out so late in the spring and summer here, we were able to take a walk along the lake and gaze at the mountains and clouds.

The next day on the drive to Milford, we stopped to check out one of the rivers and saw lots of pretty flowers in bloom.

Then we did a hike on part of the Routeburn Track (one of the New Zealand Great Walks). It was steep on the way up, and I had to stop several times, but the views at the top were beautiful. Snow-covered mountains, a mountain lake in the distance, and the cute but naughty alpine parrot, the kea, which was keeping an eye on everyone for potential food scavenging opportunities. One of them soared past us a couple times, and they have a pretty orange underside that you can see.

these are mini carnivorous plants