Te Anau

Today we stuck close to town as we had an excursion planned in the afternoon. We took a nice walk along Lake Te Anau, which is the second largest lake in New Zealand.

After lunch we walked the short distance to our excursion location. We took a catamaran type of enclosed boat across Lake Te Anau to the Te Anau Glowworm Caves. A beautiful rainbow appeared along the way.

Once at the cave, we got a brief orientation about the glowworms, which are really maggots with glowing intestines. Then in small groups of 12 we were led first on a walking tour of the cave. Then we boarded a small boat to cruise further into the cave to see the worms. No photography is allowed as the light disturbs the worms, so I don't have any pictures to share. The best way to describe the experience is to say that it was like looking up into a night sky and seeing a bunch of twinkling stars. It was quite interesting.

By the time we we were walking back to the boat, the rain that had been forecast finally arrived, along with super-strong winds. They are predicting snow for tomorrow, hopefully only at the higher elevations. We leave here tomorrow anyway, driving back to Queenstown where we will catch an afternoon flight to Auckland. North Island, here we come!