Te Anau and the Kepler Track

Yesterday, I arrived in the small town of Te Anau after a 3-hour drive from Queenstown. Te Anau is located southwest of Queenstown on Lake Te Anau, which happens to be the largest lake in New Zealand - just a little fun fact for you.
Te Anau, however, is far from being the largest city in New Zealand. It's about the same size as Wanaka, which means it has a population of around 2000 residents.
There's a path that runs along the lake all the way to the start of the famous Kepler Track, another one of the Great Walks.

Since I had a lot of time on that day, I decided to walk a good distance in one direction because the Kepler Track is a loop track.
This part of the track was relatively flat and ran alongside a river through native forest. It was nice and relaxing, but not particularly exciting.
In total, I ended up hiking for almost 5 hours because I had to walk for an hour alone just to reach the start of the Kepler Track.

To avoid that on the next day, I booked a water taxi that would take me a good distance in the other direction and save me another 1.5 hours of walking through the forest. Today, I walked in the other direction where there's more to see.

Yes, I admit it, I'm starting to get tired of hiking. But since an exhausting hike was planned for the day, I didn't feel the need to walk for another 2 hours over the terrain. There and back again!

Also, there was heavy rain and storm during the night, which continued into the morning. Luckily, it stopped, but the mountains were still covered in clouds, which looked quite beautiful.
With the thick layer of clouds, I didn't have to worry about getting sunburned, I thought. The first part of the track once again went through forest, but it started to go uphill fairly steeply.
After about 2 hours, I reached the treeline and suddenly - blue sky and sunshine. That's the New Zealand weather for you...

I quickly applied sunscreen because I still had a good half-hour walk, relatively flat along a ridge, to Luxmore Hut. I couldn't miss the opportunity to visit a Great Walk Hut.
However, the hut turned out to be the less interesting thing because on the terrace, I was greeted by a Kea. Hikers had left their backpacks outside unattended, which caught the bird's attention. It seemed particularly interested in the walking sticks and water bottles.
We could only half-heartedly shoo it away because it was also quite cute. And it gave me a chance to take a few photos and rest my legs.

After that, there was another sweaty 1.5-hour climb to Luxmore Summit, at an elevation of about 1500m.

The wind was icy cold and the sun was blazing. The path also became increasingly slippery, and the loose gravel made the hike more difficult. I couldn't just shuffle along, I had to actively lift my legs.
But as always, the view made up for everything!
On the summit, I could drool again.
Absolutely stunning!
Especially the mountains caught my attention this time, not so much the lake itself.
And to top it off, a Kea flew by. Probably attracted by all the hikers, and potential sources of food, it hopped around on the rocks for a while before taking off with a disappointed 'Keeee-aaaaa'.
I was starting to get really cold, I could hardly move my fingers, so it was time to head back. One last look, one last photo, then I walked all the way back. The hike was 12km each way, so I spent a total of 6 hours hiking, plus a few short breaks.
About halfway, I encountered a group of young Keas, which, according to another hiker, had been enjoying the sun for quite a few minutes. I sat there forever, observing the birds, but I was under a bit of time pressure - my water taxi was leaving at 4:30 pm, and I definitely wanted to catch it.
In the end, I still had 45 minutes left, which I used to relax.
My time in Te Anau seemed to fly by, but there's still so much more to see! Just thinking about all the other hiking trails I could do...
Tomorrow, I'm heading to Milford Sound along the Milford Road. Spectacular views are guaranteed, no matter what the weather is like.
I'll be camping directly in the National Park overnight, which is pretty awesome, but there's no cell signal, no WiFi, no electricity, and limited water. It's a real adventure...
But that means my entry about Milford will probably be a bit delayed, until I arrive in Invercargill, the southern end of the South Island.