New Zealand Day 4: Te Anau

We had a lot of driving to do on Day Four. Luckily for us, we took the Southern Scenic Route to our next destination. I didn't get many photos of the drive, so just imagine sweeping landscapes, lush green hills filled with fluffy white sheep and snow-capped mountains peeking up in the distance.

Not even close to doing justice to the scenic drive.

We stopped in Te Anau, a tourist town that serves as a base camp for trips into the Fjordland. Basically, it's a place for tour buses to pick up hundreds of tourists who want to see Milford Sound (tomorrow). It's also a starting point for hikers to start on the Milford Track, which is one of New Zealand's "Great Walks." The Milford Track is called The Finest Walk in the World (Ahem. If you want to hike instead of walk, try the John Muir Trail), and we would have loved to do it. Alas, one-third of our party would be scooting up the trail instead of walking, so we have to save it for another trip.

Te Anau doesn't have much to offer, so we rested up after a big travel day and looked forward to the next day's visit to Milford Sound.

Family portrait (crashed by friendly Fletcher the Dog) on the banks of Lake Te Anau.