Best of New Zealand - Saturday 19th February - Te Anau

Saturday 19^th February – Te Anau

Te Anau is a town in the South Island of New Zealand. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Te Anau in Fiordland. Lake Te Anau is the largest lake in the South Island and second only within New Zealand to Lake Taupo. Tourism and farming are the predominant economic activities in the area. Lying as it does at the borders of Fiordland National Park, it is the gateway to a wilderness area famed for tramping and spectacular scenery. Many species of bird life are also found locally, notably the endangered Takahe which can be found at the Fiordland Wildlife Park.

Te Anau is connected by highway with Invercargill to the south-eastt, Queenstown to the north-east, Gore to the east, and Manapouri to the south. Te Anau is the Start of the Milford Road the Highway to Milford Sound, which lies 120 kilometres to the north.

Fiordland

This area was well known to the Maori and many legends pertain to its formation and naming. The Demi-god Tu-te-raki-whanoa is said to have carved out the fiords with his adze,(carving tool) Te Hamo. It is impossible to imagine the sheer breadth of geological events that created this seemingly perfect sculpture. Few Maori were permanent residents of the region, but seasonal food-gathering camps were linked by well-worn trails. Takiwai, a translucent greenstone or New Zealand jade, was sought from Anita Bay and elsewhere near the mouth of Milford Sound. Captain Cook and his crew were the first Europeans to visit Fiordland, and in 1773 spent five weeks in Dusky Sound. Cook's maps and descriptions soon attracted sealers and whalers who formed the first European settlements of New Zealand. From the middle of the 19th century, surveyors, explorers and prospectors began to penetrate the unexplored interior of Fiordland.

A cherished corner of the world where mountains and valleys compete with each other for room, where scale is almost beyond comprehension, rainfall is measured in metres and scenery encompasses the broadest width of emotions'. This is how the author of the book "Mountains of Water - The Story of Fiordland National Park" described this stunning National Park. Established in 1952, Fiordland National Park is now over 1.2 million hectares in size, and encompasses mountain, lake, fiord and rainforest environments. The National Park is administered by the Department of Conservation. The variety of habitats in Fiordland support a diverse range of flora and fauna, with many developing in relative isolation leading to a high rate of endemism, or plants and animals that have evolved to be completely unique to this area. The Takahe is an example of a bird that developed to be much larger and flightless compared to its distant cousins in the rail species. The Takahe was in fact thought to be extinct for more than forty years before it was rediscovered in the mountains of Fiordland in 1948. Fiordland was also the final refuge for the world's only flightless parrot the Kakapo. Both of these rare bird species are now part of a recovery programme managed by the Department of Conservation. Fiordland became the scene of one of New Zealand's most significant conservation debates when in the 1960's it was proposed to raise the level of Lake Manapouri to assist hydro-electricity production at West Arm. The ensuing battle resulted in government ultimately bowing to the weight of petitions and passing a bill in the 1970's that gave the lake statutory protection.

Balclutha is a town in Otago, it lies towards the end of the Clutha River on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is about halfway between Dunedin and Invercargill on the Main South Line railway, State Highway 1 and the Southern Scenic Route. Balclutha has a population of 4104 and is the largest town in South Otago. The major service centre for the fertile farming region around the lower reaches of the Clutha River, it is also the nearest large town to the Catlins, a scenic region of native forest, wildlife, and rugged coastline.

Known locally as "Clutha", Balclutha's name - and that of the river on which it stands - reflects the Scottish origin of the town's settlement, and translates from Scottish Gaelic as "Town on the Clyde".

James McNeil from Bonn Hill, Dumbartonshire, Scotland, who is regarded as the town's founding father, arrived in 1853 - via Port Chalmers, in 1849. His farm was on the site of the present town, where he and the Provincial Government established a ferry service across the Clutha in 1857; as a result the town was initially called Clutha Ferry.

The town of Gore with an estimated resident population of 9,770, the second largest in Southland. Gore is a service town for the surrounding farm communities. It is divided by the Mataura River into Gore and East Gore, the majority of the town being situated on the western banks of the river. The Main South Line railway from Dunedin to Invercargill runs through the town, though passenger services ceased in 2003. Gore was once a busy railway junction; the Waimea Plains Railway ran west to connect with the Kingston Branch in Lumsden, while the Waikaka Branch connected with the Main South Line nearby in McNab. One of New Zealand's most famous preserved trains is the Kingston Flyer, which takes its name from a passenger express that once ran between Kingston and Gore.

Gore is known in New Zealand folklore as the home of Hokonui moonshine. During the days of prohibition, the Hokonui Hills to the west of the town gained a reputation for the production of illicit alcohol.

The Journey

A delightful relaxing journey through the countryside, our first stop is for lunch at Peggydale, a self service restaurant with home cooking and fresh food. There is also a “tourist shop” selling quality New Zealand products including possum fur gloves. Continuing the journey our afternoon stop for a leg stretch and toilets is in the village of Mossburn. Once we arrive in Te Anau, a short orientation, some good restaurants and bars in the town, catering to the thousands of tourists that pass through. Our Hotel The Distinction is located near the lake, has a nice restaurant, open for dinner and breakfast. A short walk from the hotel takes you into the town, passing on the way a pub/restaurant The Moose, (I can recommend the food here).