Wanaka, Te Anau, and "toilet talk"

Friday, November 18^th

Left our beautiful campsite along Lake Hawea, and drove into Wanaka, where we stopped by the post office, did some grocery shopping, gas fill up, and a few photos.  Wanaka is a beautiful setting on Lake Wanaka, and is a big snow-boarding area in the winter.  The evidence of wealth was more prominent in the homes and in the downtown area – felt more like a resort town (which it is).  It was very nice, but we decide to push on, so we head off on the Cadrona highway to Queenstown, and eventually to Te Anau – a spectacular drive.  Te Anau is the gateway to Fjordland (Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound).  We reached Te Anau at 3 PM, and encountered our first (and only) pay toilets of the trip.  There is just something not right about having to pay $1 to take care of a bodily function, so we opt to go to the i-site, and then take a walk along the lakefront path and found free toilets just down a bit in a park.  Te Anau is surrounded by 7 mountain ranges, and is next to the second largest lake in NZ.  Quiz – what is the largest – that’s right it’s Lake Taupo on the north island, and yep, we’ve already been there.  The weather forecast looks good for tomorrow, so we decide to camp earlier tonight and head to Milford Sound tomorrow AM.  Checking our DOC camping guide, we head to Henry’s Creek campground, a small (ten site) campground right on Lake Te Anau  We are the first campers to arrive, and we snag the primo site, backing right up to the lake.  That’s the ying.  The yang ends up being the pit toilet.  It was a free-standing metal cylindrical shape, very small with poor ventilation.  It smelled fine, however, when we first arrived.  A few other campers showed up and one guy went into the pit toilet for about a half an hour, and it was never quite the same after he left.  Donna noted that it smelled like he had stuffed a dismembered body down the hole.  She had never smelled anything like it.  Also our good friends the sandflies, apparently were enamored with the smell, as they were swarming in the toilet.  So spectacular site, if you didn’t have to go to the bathroom.  But we sure enjoyed the view from the campervan.  Off to bed, it’s on to Milford Sound tomorrow.

 Wanaka

 Wanaka

 Near Queenstown

 Near Queenstown

 Heading to Te Anau

 Heading to Te Anau

 Heading to Te Anau

 Heading to Te Anau

 Te Anau

 Te Anau

Our campsite at Henry's Creek at Lake Te Anau