We are now at a place called the “Lakeside Inn, Manapouri” which is literally overlooking Lake Manapouri (it’s a beautiful view) where there are snow capped Mountains all around. But there again, I say that all the time about wherever I happen to be, so I can probably safely say that wherever I am in New Zealand, it should always be assumed that there is a gorgeous view!! Actually, most of the time it’s like driving through a postcard wherever we are!
We have been over to the little beach by the Lake to appreciate the view, but we didn’t last long there, as Paul was under siege from Sandflies, as he hadn’t followed Cardinal Rule Numero Uno, and spreyed himself well and truly until you can barely breathe for the fumes, with insect repellant!
So…after checking in at the place, we decided to drive into the nearby Te Anau, for a little nosey around, which turned out to be rather little indeed, as the place is. To say it was quiet would be a massive understatement. I think that in the hour that we were there we probably saw no more than…hmm…40 people. And even then, most of them were shop or visitor centre staff!!
On the way back to the Room, we even stopped off at a place that I know I am going to get ridiculed for even going in, but I did protest that it wasn’t going to be at all interesting before we went in, honestly!!
Actually, it was probably THE single most rubbish thing that has ever had the cheek to label itself an “attraction” that I have encountered in my entire life!!
Wait for it….The Te Anau Trout Observatory. As exciting and enthralling as the name suggests. Put one dollar in the turnstile (about 30p) and go through into an enchanting underground lair where there was basically a tank with 4 trout floating around in it. And that is it. Nothing else, just Trout. The fishy variety. Even then, Paul started to doubt that they were indeed real Trout, as they were very dosile!!
I felt that my life had been enriched by the experience….
(Enriched with the knowledge that you should always follow your instincts despite persuasion from your Mother, that Trout Observitories are NEVER going to be remotely interesting!!)haha.
In the evening, we made our way back down to “Buzzing epicenter” to catch a boatride to the Te Anau Gloworm Caves that we had booked in the afternoon. I hadn’t eaten all day, and was feeling very apprehensive about the imminent 30 minute aqua-transfer on the Lake, that was looking rather choppy as far as Lakes go!
Surprisingly, I wasn’t affected by the dreaded sickness at all, and even managed to have a good giggle out on the deck with Mum as we were perpectually splashed by the passing water (at least it was 98 % pure, as I was reliably informed!) and Mum and Paul had a good old giggle at the fact that the blustery wind wooshing around our heads only further contributed to the “Rockstar impersonator” look that I have recently acquired, that gives me a striking resemblance to Justin Hawkins from “The Darkness,” which seems to occur every time that my hair is subject to any amount of dampness!!!!
Well, all I can say is that it’s a good job that I have given up caring about what either my face or my ever-more frizzy wig look like, or else I could be quite offended by the whole thing!!
When we got to the Caves, we were briefed by an irritatingly enthusiastic, young tour guide, who split us all up into groups of 12 to go into the Caves, as they were too small inside to get everyone in at once, and the boats that take you around the main cave only hold 12 anyway!
Luckily, we got to go in the first group, which saved us waiting around, twiddling our thumbs in the visitor centre.
The entrance to the Caves was really small, so for quite a bit of the first part, we had to hunch over and scurry through in the darkness, hoping not to hit our head’s, which, luckily, I avoided.(which I was surprised about, given my track record!)
Mum said that she was quite frieked out by the confined space on the inside, but I was ok with it, apart from having to put my hood up to stop the water constantly trickling from the ceiling onto my nose!
The sound of the water gushing around was so loud that you could barely hear yourself think in there, and the place was very dimly lit, to avoid disturbing the Worms, so at timed it was hard to concentrate on looking at what was all around us, especially because it takes your eyes a little while to adjust to the darkness, but, I did take note of the waterfalls and passageways that had been carved into the Rock through thousands of years of water pushing through it, and I thought “whoa”. Then I thought, “I hope to god that the bloody ceiling doesn’t fall in, because there is no way outta here!!!”(But, I didn’t say that out loud, for obvious reasons. Wouldn’t want to give the old dear in front of me a panic attack now, would I?)
When we got on the boat, and started moving around the main Gloworm Cave, it was quite special to see them all twinkling away on the roof. But, there weren’t as many as I thought that there would be. I did start to go into my own little world in there, looking up, not noticing that my neck was bloody killing me!! I only snapped out of it each time the boat would crash against the cave wall as the guide tried to turn the boat around, when I nearly messed my pants…but luckily, I didn’t!
I don’t actually know how long we were in there for, but on the way back out, we stopped a few times to look at the Trout (again) swimming in the River, and the Eels wrapped around the rocks, as well as looking at some of the threads that the Gloworms use to catch their dinner hanging from the walls.
When we got out, Paul, aka “Mr I have a conspiracy theory for every hour of the day” said that he thought that the whole thing was a set up, and that since the guide said that the Trout and Eel were both very hard to locate in the darkness of the Caves, it was all rather too suspiciously convenient for his liking, that she should turn on her torch and just like that, there would be a Trout, or an Eel. He thought that they were plastic replicas or something that had been planted there to fool us. I dunno. But, I must agree, it was all very convenient!!hehe.
He even suggested that the Gloworms were actually little Fiberoptic lights or something similar, but I think that I can safely say that at least they were authentic!!lol. What’s he like, eh?
The boatride back to shore seemed surprisingly shorter than half an hour, (probably because it was 10 pm and pitch black outside by then), and again, I wasn’t at all ill, which I was chuffed about!! But, I was absolutely starved from not eating in anticipation of the journey, so we went to the nearest open place that was serving food…which happened to be a pub just across the road called the Moose.(I was not only delighted by the prospect of food, but also at the fact that I could pull my Moose face and pose for photos under the sign!!!) The only thing was….Wednesdays is Karoke night at the Moose, so we had to just sit as far back from the speakers as possible, in a vain attaempt to protect our wounded ears from the noises that could only loosly be termed “singing” for the duration of the meal.
Luckily, we were all that hungry by then, that we basically ate really fast, so much so, that I doubt that some of the stuff didn’t even touch the sided of my mouth on the way down the hole!!!