Days 107-110 - The Catlins - Te Anau
Trip Start
Nov 29, 2007
1
70
Trip End
Mar 27, 2008
Te Anau, New Zealand
Monday, March 10, 2008
After looking at the beach we drove for several hours to get to Te Anau which is the gateway to Milford and Doubtful Sounds. It is a lovely little town which consists of just a few streets with shops, bars and restaurants. The town sits peacefully beside New Zealand's second largest lake. Lake Te Anau was gouged out by a huge glacier, and has several arms that penetrate into the moutainous forested shore. It's deepest point is 417m and it stretches 53km long. The lake takes its name from the caves called Te-Ana-au (cave with a current of swirling water), which lie on it's western shore. Once present only in Maori legends, these impressive caves were re-discovered fairly recently in 1948. Accessible only by boat, the 200m cave system is said to be a magical place with waterfalls, whirlpools and a glow-worm grotto in its inner reaches. We are hoping to go and see the glow-worms while we are here.
We booked ourselves into the Great Lakes Holiday Park which is within two minutes walking time to the town. This campsite is possibly the best we have ever stayed at. The kitchen is huge with lots of electric/gas rings , two ovens, two microwaves, loads of toasters, loads of space, loads of everything. The dining area is also absolutely huge and there are vending machines and heaters everywhere. There is a large TV room with a log fire and a little internet bay with two coin-operated computers. Both the kitchen and TV room are open 24 hours. There are lots of showers and toilets and everything is spotless. It is much warmer here, away from the coast and the wind. After sorting the van and awning out, we sat outside in the late afternoon sun. It is lovely here, I already don't want to leave. Another bonus is the campsite is directly next to a DVD rental shop. It was a bit late when we arrived here so we picked up a load of leaflets to look through and decide what we wanted to do tomorrow.
I definitely want to see the glow-worm caves so the next day we headed into the town to look around and book the trip (although we could have booked directly at the campsite). This is an example of how small the population is here:- there is a small supermarket and every day, they have a board up displaying the names of the local people whose birthday it is that day. I thought that was really quite sweet.
There are lots of souveneir shops here and I love these type of shops, I could spend hours browsing in them - Dean was very patient. The shame about back-packing is you have to carry everything back home on your back so not much room for souveneirs. I could have spent a fortune in those shops, everything was so nice. We found a tour booking place and booked ourselves onto the glow-worm tour for that evening. We could only get onto the 7.15pm one as all the others were booked up. I was surprised as there doesn't seem to be enough people in the town even if you count all the tourists (which I think must all be hiding somewhere).
So, with our trip to look forward to, we set off back to camp to get showered, changed and fed. We dressed warmly as we expect it to be cold underground and when we got to the lakeside meeting place there were loads of people waiting for the boat- it was full. It felt like we were on a pensioners day out, I think we were the only people in the group under the age of 60. We all boarded the boat and every seat was taken. Dean and I wanted to go upstairs on deck to look at the lake and the scenery but they wouldn't let us until after the stupid safety video. We did eventually get up there and it was very cold and windy but the views over the lake to the mountains beyond were amazing. The boat journey was only thirty minutes long and as we were about to disembark we were told that we would be counted into small groups of twelve to go underground. There were two women in front of us who were absolutely determined to be the first off the boat and were willing to trample over anyone who got in the way of their goal. They were pushing and shoving, completely forgetting their husbands behind them and they irritated me immediately. They did manage to be the first off and we were just behind them. They counted us off as we came off the boat and the two women then realised what they were doing and suddenly remembered they had husbands with them. They started shouting for them to come up to the front with them but we had already been counted into a group and the guide said no, they would have to go back in the line to join their husbands if they wanted to be in the same tour group. Well, they weren't prepared to give up their precious position at the front and chose to go without them.
The entrance to the cave was so close and there was an underground river coming out of it that I wondered how come it took until 1948 to re-discover it. The caves here are about 12,000 years old which is young in geological terms. But the limestone they carve through is ancient - up to 35 million years old. This cave system is quite unusual because they are still increasing in size. The river that flows through them is mildly acidic, which helps the water dissolve rock and create passages. The entrance to the caves is low (even I had to duck ever so slightly), but it quickly opens up into the expansive cathedral. This is the highest known point in the caves at 20m, it is quite magical (if you like that kind of thing). As soon as we went in, we could hear rushing water which in the darkness is a bit spooky. We were glad of our warm clothes and woolly hats, as it was a bit cold in there. We are not allowed to take pictures or videos in the caves as it disturbs the glo-worms and they switch their lights off in reaction to light or noise. At the far end of the cathedral, there is a waterfall and we can see fossillized shell fragments and marine skeletons in the limestone walls. These date back to when the limestone formed under the sea millions of years ago. Past the waterfall there is a whirlpool and a natural sandstone bridge. At the end of the walkway, we all got into a small boat to float into the gloworm grotto. We were all warned before we got to the boat that we must be absolutely silent from the moment we get into the it. I ended up sat next to the annoying women who immediately began talking loudly between each-other as soon as we sat down. Everyone was whispering "Sush" at them but they continued for another four more "Shushes" directed at them when they finally got the message and shut up. They were so annoying, I was seriously tempted to throttle them in the pitch black. And it was pitch black when the boat started moving, we couldn't see our hands in front of our faces. We could clearly see the gloworms in the darkness, their little lights shining brightly all over the walls and ceiling of the cave. It was quite eeerie, the boat moving silently in the darkness but I liked it, it was peaceful. The gloworms are not actually worms, they are the larva of a fungus gnat. The brilliant lights of the larvae attract flying insects to sticky threads that hang from their nests. The hungrier the gloworms, the more brightly they glow.
The boat journey lasted about ten minutes and then we left the cave system the way we had come in. We passed the second group half-way into the caves on our way out. Back outside the caves, there is a building with a little cafeteria and we were offered tea and coffee (free). We were glad of a hot drink and two cups tea later, it was time to get back on the boat. It is a cold night tonight.
Back at camp I spent my evening in the TV room on the internet. Dean came and joined me after about an hour, announcing that he had booked us on a trip for the next morning. He wouldn't tell me what it was, it is a surprise. I love surprises and Dean is not usually so spontaneous so I revelled in the moment and looked forward to it.
The next morning, a minibus arrived at 9.30am and I still hadn't got a clue what we were going to do. I couldn't make it out from the writing on the minibus either. Someone got out and introduced himself (I forgot his name) and he gave the game away immediately asking us if we'd booked for horse riding.
Horse riding?!!
I must admit I was pretty surprised as Dean has always maintained that you'd never get him on a horse. I have always said you'd never get me on a horse either. I am a bit scared of horses, they are so big and daft and skitty. However, it's something I have never done before and I'm looking forward to having a go - how hard or scary can it be? I did jump out of a plane at 12,000ft and the royal family go horse riding all the time don't they? So, it can't be that dangerous or they wouldn't be allowed.
The minibus picked up another couple along the way but they are doing quad-biking. We were then driven to a farm where we met our guide, a fresh-faced lovely young woman called Katie. She was very excited about having two absolute beginners who have never even sat on a horse before and her confidence is infectious. I was glad to find out it was just the three of us riding that morning, I think I would have been more nervous in a large group with lots of horses. We got fitted with a hat and then she took us over to meet the horses who were all ready and tied to the fence. My horse is called Blackadder and he is the smallest horse (he is huge). Dean's horse is called Hooter and the lead horse is called Nick. I was relieved to see a stepping block in the field, I didn't have to hoist myself onto this huge animal from the ground although I'm sure that would have made an incredibly entertaining video. How on earth can anybody get on this thing from the ground?
Getting onto the horse via the stepping block was easy but as soon as I got on him, I immediately got cramp in both hips. This horse is WIDE, my little legs are not designed to be that far away from each-other. I began to doubt the entertainment value in this particular activity but luckily the cramp disappeared after about 20 seconds and it's quite a nice feeling being sat high upon a horse. Dean also managed to climb onto Hooter without incident and Katie explained the reins, how to hold them and how to make the horse turn. It all seems so easy and these horses are very used to the walk and having beginners in the saddle. Immediately we were on the horses, both of them put their heads down to eat the grass. Dean stopped Hooter from doing it by pulling his head up by the reins. I felt sorry for Blackadder, he was obviously happy to be out of his paddock munching on all the un-munched grass out here and I let him. I would regret this later.
We set off with Katie and Nick leading, I was surprised to learn that there is a hierarchy among horses and they follow each other in single file but in a specific order. Hooter stays very close behind Nick, practically up his bum in fact. Blackadder lags behind them both at his own pace. Katie had warned me that because Blackadder's only got little legs, he gets behind and occasionally runs (well probably more of a trot) to catch up to the others. This was incredibly alarming the first time he did it (and painful) and I hung on for dear life as I was bounced up and down in the hard saddle. Katie told me to lift my bum off the seat when he did this but I never did get the hang of it properly and my feet kept bouncing out of the stirrups every time he picked up his pace.
Apart from that, it was lovely trotting around the farm which has many acres of land. It was a gorgeous sunny day and a pleasant way to travel around. Dean really enjoyed it too and looked like he'd been riding horses all his life - it suited him. After an hour or so, we stopped for some home-made muffins, chocolate chip cookies and a drink. My legs felt like jelly when I got off, I couldn't stop them shaking and I hoped they would be capable of getting back on him. They were and luckily there was another stepping block in this field too.
For the next leg of the journey, Katie is going to lead us through a river and up and down some hills. We went into a field full of clover and Blackadder thought he was at a birthday party. He kept stopping every five seconds to put his head down and munch. There was no warning when he did this and every time I was thrown forward in surprise. I tried to stop him but he was strong and I had let him do it earlier, he knew I was a soft touch and he wouldn't listen to me at all. He was being so naughty and in the end, Katie put him on the rope or it would have taken us until Christmas to complete the walk. Hooter was just as eager to get to the clover but Dean had much better control over him.
Blackadder was well behaved with Katie holding his rope. In fact, he seemed very smug because now he was at the front alongside the lead horse and Hooter was behind. Katie told us that Blackadder loves to be in front. His 'little legs' had no trouble keeping pace now and he even tried to nose his way slightly in front of Nick. Nick nutted him whenever he did this to put him back in his place and I thought this was highly amusing. After we had cleared the clover fields, Katie let Blackadder off the rope and Hooter immediately nosed his way past him to resume his usual position. So, Blackadder was lagging behind again going slower than ever.
It was fun going through the river and Katie showed us how to lean forward when we go uphill and lean back when going down. They sure make it look easy galloping up and down mountains in Lord of the rings but it definitely isn't. Take it from me, horse riding is not as easy as it looks and I feel bruised already from bouncing in the saddle which isn't soft. We came to a gate and Katie got off to open it. While we were stood still for a moment, Blackadder took a fancy to a tree that was there. He started to eat the leaves and then proceeded to drag me into the middle of it. I squealed as I first tried to move the branches out of my face and as a after-thought realised that it was a possibility I could be dragged off the horse altogether. Luckily Katie was on the ground and grabbed Blackadder, putting him back on the rope and telling him off. Crisis over, Blackadder managed to behave himself for the rest of the walk, I think he had scared himself. We came to a field with lots of mushrooms in it and Katie picked some for us to take home. It was a lovely walk back to the farm and I have to say that I have really enjoyed the horse riding. It's definitely not an activity I would have picked myself but I'm glad we did it and it is a lovely way to see the countryside. I would definitely do it again but don't expect to see me in the Grand National anytime soon or ever. It has given me a certain kind of respect for people that do ride horses, those that gallop about on them must be pretty fit to do that. My legs were feeling quite sore when we got back to the farmyard and I still had to exit the horse. I wasn't sure they would support me jumping off but I didn't have to worry because Dean came and lifted me off and gently placed me on my jelly-legs. I gave Blackadder a cuddle and a kiss on his nose, he is a lovely horse really - just hungry.
We were driven back to our campsite with a huge bag of freshly picked mushrooms. We decided to fry them up for our dinner and we had a delicious meal of bacon, eggs, beans mushrooms and toast. It has been a very different but again an incredible and enjoyable day in paradise that is New Zealand.
