Te Anau
Te Anau, New Zealand - Day 9
Backpacks packed, and luggage stored away at our hotels luggage check, Katie and I made the short walk to Ultimate Hikes office in Queenstown and boarded the bus. On our way to Te Anau, our bus driver told us of the Maori explanation of how lake Wakatipu formed. The legend was that there was a giant that lived in the south island who had kidnapped a Maori chiefs daughter and bound her with a magical rope. The chief told the warriors of his tribe that whomever saved his daughter could have her hand in marriage as reward. Warriors tried and failed against the might of the giant. One day, a particularly witty warrior discovered the giant slept when warm winds blew through the valleys and located the chiefs daughter while the giant slept. He tried everything to unbound her of the magic ropes, but nothing worked. Demoralized, the woman cried. These tears ran down her face and onto the rope, breaking its magic and releasing her. The warrior, knowing he has to deal with the giant once and for all, set the bush it slept on fire. The fire engulfed the giant and grew so hot that it melted all the snow on the surrounding mountain tops, forming the lake in the shape of the giant laying on its side. Over lunch in Te Anau, Katie and I chatted with some of our fellow hikers, Murray and Joe. They were a hilarious New Zealand couple and we had some good laughs over Kiwis with Murray describing them as, "fat, flightless birds that are always tripping over their beak and can't take care of themselves." We were all laughing, Murray included, when he said, "It's not funny mate! We're stuck with them!" After lunch, our troop boarded a boat and made our way across Lake Te Anau into Fiordland National Park and the Milford Track trail head. The days hike was a short one to the first lodge, just a mile in from shore. After leaving the boat, all the hikers had to walk through soapy water to clean their shoes. Conservation is a huge deal in New Zealand and this was to make sure no one brought in anything on their boots. Katie and I dropped off our packs off in our room before heading off on a nature walk around the lodge with one of the four guides, Margarita. She was young, originally from Taiwan, and has studied ecology. On the hike she taught us about various plants and birds we would see on our hike. Most notably the mountain beech (small, smooth leaves), silver beech (small, jagged leaves), and red beech (large, jagged leaves) trees and the bush robin. The bush robin is a sociable little black and white bird that will come say hello and peck at your boots if you give them a chance. Wrapping the day up, we had our first dinner and shared it with Shigezo-san and Misa-san. Misa actually worked for ultimate hikes, but was just getting some time off and Shigezo had come to spend time with her. They had met a few years back in New Zealand, though they are both from Japan. We talked a lot about how I have always wanted to go to Japan to which Shigezo gave me a brochure for a place to stay and his card, telling me to let him know when I make it over there and maybe we could meet up and he could show us the sights. They were both great to talk to, making our first dinner a fun and memorable one.
