Slept with Paul and Ann Jacobs in a shared room last night. 2 double bunk beds each. Not much room above my top bunk. We were told that the boat would start moving at 6:00 but we would not have to be up until 7:30 for breakfast. Good thing as I got up when the boat did but went back to sleep until exactly 7:30! Went down for a bit of the scrambled eggs with lobster from last night. Josh made a bunch of sausage and bacon to go with it. All really good but I wasn't too hungry. Took turns stripping down the beds as it was crowded in the room. Decided to let the Jacobs do their thing first and then Connie and I went in to change, etc.
Here's our shared room bunk beds.
The group on the back of the boat on Doubtful Sound
By the time we got downstairs the boat had already traveled over to Crooked Arm Cove and was heading back to the main Doubtful Sound channel. We took a bunch of pictures of the sunrise and the Sound as we headed back to the western end of Doubtful Sound. We departed the boat for good around 10:30 and did the reverse bus ride back over the Wilmot Pass to the Manapouri Power Station. One more ferry boat ride back to Manapouri and we were ready to be transported to Te Anu.
Our friend Denis was there again and he gave us a tour of Te Anu before dropping us off the The Anchorage Motor Hotel. This place reminded Connie and I of many places we stayed in the last time we were in New Zealand! We checked in a got to our room. Internet functioned and I attempted to catch up a bit on the blog.
Walked around Te Anu and Connie and I had a couple of pies at a local shop. There are pie shops everywhere in New Zealand, serving up something like a smaller version of a pot pie. Easily picked up and delicious. We had a Thai and a Satay version and they were quite tasty!
We also went to a supermarket to get some yougurt, meuseli and a couple of bananas for breakfast tomorrow before the tromp. It eas there that we realized how expensive the lobsters Josh got for us fresh from the sound were. A 2 kilo lobster was about $200 NZ. That's around $140 US! Each of us had 1/2 of a 2 kilo lobster. Their boat is becoming famous because of Josh's ability to scuba for the lobsters. I guess so! The blue cod that Richie Steingart caught was also really expensive prepared. At dinner a blue cod plate was about $25 and his fish gave all 12 of us a plate.
After we cleaned up a bit we walked over to Lake Te Anu and took a 30 minute ferry ride to the Te Anu Glow worm cave. Pretty amazing cave that is still being shaped by a raging underground river. We got to see a whole bunch of glow worms with their firefly like lights. The glow worms spin out "lines" of sticky stuff which capture insects drawn to them by the lights in the worm's butt! Once we were pretty far up into the cave we went in a small boat that was pulled along from a line overhead by our guide. The channel was very narrow there and in total darkness we saw probably millions of the glowing lights. Much larger of an operation that Connie and I saw on the North Island before. Sadly, no photos allowed.
Returned to Te Anu and walked to dinner at The Kepler Family Restaurant. Lots of Keplers around Te Anu going way back to when the first white settlers came to New Zealand. There is Kepler this and Kepler that including this restaurant. The meal was pretty slow but quite tasty. Connie and I each had a soup and shared a seafood casserole. I think everyone liked their dinners.
Time for a good night's sleep in a real bed to prepare for tomorrow's start of the tromp.
Here's our shared room bunk beds.
The group on the back of the boat on Doubtful Sound
Gorgeous scenery
Back to get on the bus at the end of Doubtful Sound. All the boats docked here, coming and going.
Our friend Denis was there again and he gave us a tour of Te Anu before dropping us off the The Anchorage Motor Hotel. This place reminded Connie and I of many places we stayed in the last time we were in New Zealand! We checked in a got to our room. Internet functioned and I attempted to catch up a bit on the blog.
Walked around Te Anu and Connie and I had a couple of pies at a local shop. There are pie shops everywhere in New Zealand, serving up something like a smaller version of a pot pie. Easily picked up and delicious. We had a Thai and a Satay version and they were quite tasty!
We also went to a supermarket to get some yougurt, meuseli and a couple of bananas for breakfast tomorrow before the tromp. It eas there that we realized how expensive the lobsters Josh got for us fresh from the sound were. A 2 kilo lobster was about $200 NZ. That's around $140 US! Each of us had 1/2 of a 2 kilo lobster. Their boat is becoming famous because of Josh's ability to scuba for the lobsters. I guess so! The blue cod that Richie Steingart caught was also really expensive prepared. At dinner a blue cod plate was about $25 and his fish gave all 12 of us a plate.
After we cleaned up a bit we walked over to Lake Te Anu and took a 30 minute ferry ride to the Te Anu Glow worm cave. Pretty amazing cave that is still being shaped by a raging underground river. We got to see a whole bunch of glow worms with their firefly like lights. The glow worms spin out "lines" of sticky stuff which capture insects drawn to them by the lights in the worm's butt! Once we were pretty far up into the cave we went in a small boat that was pulled along from a line overhead by our guide. The channel was very narrow there and in total darkness we saw probably millions of the glowing lights. Much larger of an operation that Connie and I saw on the North Island before. Sadly, no photos allowed.
Returned to Te Anu and walked to dinner at The Kepler Family Restaurant. Lots of Keplers around Te Anu going way back to when the first white settlers came to New Zealand. There is Kepler this and Kepler that including this restaurant. The meal was pretty slow but quite tasty. Connie and I each had a soup and shared a seafood casserole. I think everyone liked their dinners.
Time for a good night's sleep in a real bed to prepare for tomorrow's start of the tromp.
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