A beautiful clear morning, crisp & cold & sunny! Stunning mountain views - snow-capped, against light blue skies! Reluctantly left at 10am, after booking Milford Sound cruise for tomorrow at 9am, and reserving the self contained cabin for tomorrow night. Brief stop at Manapouri Lake, then headed north, into the mountains!

Paused at Te Anau to find an ATM & buy a few groceries, then followed the shores of the lake, stopping a couple of times to admire the views, take photos, and practice skimming stones!

Just before Te Anau Downs, we followed a 40min circular walk through regenerating beech forest, to Lake Mistletoe (a small glacial lake). Then the road turns, and follows the Eglinton River (more stops, more photos!) along the Eglinton Valley. Next stop: Mirror Lakes which, when the weather is calm, reflect a view of the mountains from their still surfaces.

The road then started gaining altitude, & a lookout gave us views of tree covered, U shaped, glacial valleys, with the Humboldt & Ailsa mountains in the (not to far) distance. Sharp descent to the valley floor, we were finally at this road's only junction! Turned right, onto the unsealed road toward Hollyford. Arrived at Gunn's Camp at around 2pm - an old (& NZ's only surviving) depression era Dept of Works camp, from the 1930s! - & booked a cabin (rusty tin roof & coal fired stove, 2 bedrooms!). Fantastic site - lots of "silly" things all over the place (Irish skydiver, the lawn-moa, etc), plenty of sandflies & a lovely, brand new, communal area & kitchen (big real fire in the corner!)

Ate lunch by the Hollyford River, & kids played on the (very old looking) wooden see-saw, while we settled in & sorted out our food & gear. No electrical appliances, as there was only a generator running for a few hours in the evening - therefore, lights out at 10.30pm, literally! Gas fired rings to cook with, & a couple of small grills, for toast.

After lunch, drove further up the road, first to Moraine Creek, where a narrow suspension bridge crosses the river, and the water was a beautiful (icy) blue colour. Then a short 30 min walk to admire Humboldt Falls, the 3rd tallest in Fiordland! Then drove to the end of the road - literally! The gravel road ends with a slipway for launching boats into the river, and a bridge to take hikers onto the start of the Hollyford track.

The weather started to deteriorate as we drove back towards Camp, & we briefly paused once, at the Historic Gravesite of Donald Keith (aged 59 years) who died of exhaustion, after trying to walk (with a friend) from Jamestown to Queenstown, for much needed supplies. Back at the Camp, the rain had started falling in earnest, & we spent 30 mins in the small, but very interesting, early settlers museum. Then into the cosy & warm communal lounge, with its big real fire, & to hide from the sandflies, for tea (beans on toast!), & to read, & play battleships!

Put the kids to bed early, & sat in the warmth of the lounge, reading & drinking wine. Went back to the cabin at ~9.30, & lit the wood + coal fired stove. Read & played guitar (borrowed from the managers!) until the lights suddenly went out! Took the hint, and went to bed!