Whanau Time in Te Anau

Monday 24 March

A lie in in Lumsden, followed by a visit to the coolest wee cafe in town before heading westward to Te Anau along the “Scenic Highway” which genuinely lived up to its name.

The landscape and vistas along the way were stunning - in the foreground fields of sheep, cows & deer, in the background the most amazing mountains and hillsides.

Te Anau was bathed in sunshine and we filled up with water before settling into our new POP in time for a late lunch. Kim & Fred have a lovely friendly space for campers with power on request for $10 a night per van plus $10 if you want power - we love an under our budget site!

A wee siesta, a walk along the lakeside and then we spent the evening with Liz & Brendan - Auntie Liz is one of Louis’ dad, Russell’s younger sisters. We last saw her at Sara & Michael’s wedding in 2003 so there was a lot of catching up to do!

Beautiful cloudscapes over Lake Te Anau as the sun settled lower in the sky, and the waters by the main lakefront was still and reflective. I was very taken with the sailboat Faith and would love to do the evening cruise round the lake on her one day.

Spent an hour or so catching up with the whanau in Liz & Brendan's lovely sunny garden, before moving indoors for dinner. Liz had so many tales of family history and memories of her older brother Russell and how Helen was good friends with her older sister Pam, which was how she met Russell. Fascinating stories.