We checked out some local sites in the morning and did a short walk on the Kepler Track (one of the Great Walks of NZ), along the shores of Lake Te Anau. We also walked over the control gates of the dam wall that control the flow of water on Waiau River from Lake Te Anau to Lake Manapouri. We learnt that eels on the lake have to migrate to the sea to breed and the baby eels (elvers) will try to climb dam walls to get back 'home'.
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| Lake Te Anau |
At 2 pm, we boarded a boat to cross Lake Te Anau to the Aurora Cave system. We went to the lower chambers only (Te Anau Caves) and was astounded by how the water flowing from Lake Orbell, high up in the mountains, has carved the caves out. The crystal clear water flowed with such power and turbulence. We then boarded a small boat to enter the magical glow worm caves - where the 'ceiling' of the cave was littered by a galaxy of stars. Glow worms (Arachnocampa luminosa) have a fascinating lifecycle, and spend most of their lives in the larvae stage where they drop sticky lines to trap their prey, with the light attracting bugs to their lairs.
Highlights:
MK: Te Anau caves, with its fast flowing stream through it.
MJ: Glow worms.
MH: Glow worms.
Logbook:
09:00 (1433 km) Breakfast of toast and nutella.
09:15 (1441 km) Kepler Track.
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| Walking along on Kepler Track to Dock Bay, on the shores of Te Anau |
10:00 (1462 km) Manapouri. Had a look at ferries to Doubtful sound. Had a look at Fraser's Beach.
10:25 (1485 km) Lake Te Anau control gates. Walked to Dock Bay and had a seat at the picnic table. According to the mobile app, we walked 5.58 km in 1 hour 8 minutes.
11:55 (1485 km) Left control gates. Bird Sanctuary to see some birds including the Kaka and Takahe.
12:24 (1491 km) Asure Amber Court Motel. Lunch of bacon and toast.
13:40 (1493 km) Went on Glow Worm Caves Tour. We had comfortable boat ride across Lake Te Anau to the glow worm caves. We had to duck and almost doubled over to get through the entrance and then we got into a noisy chamber. The tour guide had to yell to talk to us. There were a few different speleological features and then we went into a boat inside the cave. We quietly got pulled into a quiet dark chamber that had glow worms all over the ceiling. There were like galaxies of stars. When got back to the visitor centre, we were given a talk on the life of the glow worms.
16:15 (1493 km) Shopping.
17:00 (1495 km) Asure Amber Court Motel. Dinner of soy chicken and rice.