Te Anau is the base camp for the majesty that is Fjordland. I can’t describe enough how beautiful it is down in the south western corner of New Zealand. I’m going to have to break it into several parts, especially because I took over 400 photos of it (Don’t fret, I culled them down). Te Anau lies on the shore of a big lake, cradled by towering frosty peaks.
A sailing school prepares to launch on Lake Te Anau.
We booked an overnight boat cruise in the Doubtful Sound, but that ship doesn’t leave until later in the week. So in the mean time, we drive north of Te Anau towards Milford Sound. There are hiking trails everywhere. We pull over and tackle the walk up to Lake Marian, a glacial lake high up in the peaks.
The typical weather pattern of this region is rain. The winds of the Tasman Sea suck up a fistful of moisture and slap this area across the face with water. Up the cliff walls, a rain forest clings and thrives. The hike up to Lake Marian is no exception. Dense with foliage and soaked through with a never ending light drizzle, the path is extremely muddy, even resembling a water slide at certain points. A thick fog hangs over the entire scene giving the area a calm tranquil feel. Strange bird calls echo through the limbs and fronds. It’s so perfect here.
The hike up through the mud and trees takes a good two hours and the trees never seem to give way to the sky. Finally, soaked, tired, we break through to a massive clearing. Lake Marian.
(click to enlarge)
The fog is so dense, you can’t see beyond 30 yards. Though it’s a true bummer that we miss what was promised to be a mind blowing view of sharp cliffs reflecting off a glass-smooth lake surface, the look and feel of a mysterious mountain-top lake hidden to all but us was a feeling I’ll forever cherish.
I would have loved to stay up there forever, but with the sun going down, we didn’t want to have to swim down the muddy trail in the dark. Back at the bottom, the trail follows along a rushing waterfall that ran a sharp turquoise color. Glacial sediment. Such a crazy color to see.
The plan was to keep driving on through the mountains to Milford Sound. There is a small lodge there where we hope to stay. As we drive along the road, we get to a long tunnel that cuts through the mountain. It’s a small tunnel, and cars can only go through it one direction at a time. We wait at the stop light and the van starts to get pounded by rain. It’s our turn to go through the tunnel, and it’s pitch black inside. We only have our headlights to guide us through the pothole-ridden, dripping, downhill tunnel. Kind of terrifying.
Ahh, the light at the end of the tunnel.
But that light was misleading. The faucet is completely open and we’re in the middle of a major downpour. “Torrential” doesn’t even begin to describe it. The wipers work diligently to give us the most shocking view we’ve ever seen. The tunnel lets out into an impossibly thin valley with cliff walls so steep, you could rappel down them.
But the truly shocking sight was thanks to the rain, not in spite of it. With walls that sheer and rains that heavy, massive waterfalls streamed down in every direction you looked like an infinite storm of pulsating lightning bolts.
And this wasn’t just that one postcard moment. The drive from the end of the tunnel to the camp took an additional 20-40 minutes. And every minute of that drive was spent staring bewilderedly out the windows marveling at this impossible water world.
When we finally reach the camp, it’s raining even harder. We check-in and learn that the camp doesn’t have any power plugs for vans. No heater tonight. We survive the cold and constant pattering of rain by drinking the scotch we picked up in the Oamaru distillery and boiling water for warmth. Just what we need, more humidity. It was a surreal night. By morning, the rain hadn’t let up a drop and was coming down just as hard as ever. We drove to the end of the road to try and see Mitre Peak, the icon of the South Island, but could make out nothing but rain and fog. We didn’t give up that easy, but the rest is another story…
