Te Anau - The Fiordlands

We've finally made it to the Fiordland. A famous and picturesque area which is a large national park. Unfortunately there is a strict "No freedom camping" policy. Therefore we got us the cheapest option, a van park located just before the city. Still pretty expensive for nothing but a park spot.
Then we checked what to do for the next few days in the area. Besides hiking it's famous for Kayaking, so we booked the next open spots with good weather for the 26th. In the Fiordlands are three of the "Great Walks" located, among them the "Milford Track", the so-called "greatest walk in the world". Unfortunately it's completely booked out until the end of the season in April. Besides that, the other two Great Walks, the "Kepler Track" and "Routeburn Track" were fully booked for the next days and weeks.
But luckily both of them were better accesible, so we decided to do the Kepler Track - a 60km loop starting almost within the town. Our initial plan was to do the whole track in a single day but then decided to do just the first 18km and then turn around because they're supposed to be the best section. And it was an amazing hike up there with rewarding views over the nearby mountains, valleys and lakes. The trail is in a remarkably perfect condition so we could just enjoy the views. Near a hut is a small cave system which is accessible to explore.
Overall it was a pretty long hike taking us about 10 hours but with rewarding views.Read more