Day 8: Te Anau

We woke up early on January 12th, hoping to leave town fully fed and caffeinated by 8am. Our next destination would be Te Anau, and we had a 2-3 hour drive ahead of us. Our delightful AirBnB was an actual BnB that had a cold breakfast spread in the kitchen. We enjoyed some toast and muesli before heading to Ritual for coffee on our way out of town.

We’ve mostly figured out the coffee ordering now. Becca gets an iced Americano, and Scott gets a long black. Both of us are still always asked if we want milk, cream, or sugar with our order. Kiwis really like their dairy products. We’ve looked for packages iced coffee equivalents in supermarkets and petrol stations, and they all have several options for coffee flavored milk. That’s exactly how they are labeled. Coffee-Flavored Milk, Mocha-Flavored Milk, etc., and some have a small level of caffeine included on the ingredient list, but no black, unsweetened iced coffee. The best we’ve found is “Columbian Espresso with Milk,” and it’s so thick and creamy it tastes like it’s been made with whole milk or maybe even straight cream. It tastes absolutely fantastic, but it’s practically a meal in itself! 

With caffeine in hand, we started off for Te Anau. This would be one of Becca’s favorite routes to drive and enjoy – largely due to the yellow fluffy hills:

Just 45 minutes into the drive, we spotted a sign for cheese. We had to stop. This spontaneous side trip equated to an adult version of the children’s book, ‘If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.’ 

If you give the Klettke’s a cheese sign, they will pull over and ask to taste the cheese. Upon eating the cheese, they will need to wash their hands and ask to use the restroom. In the hallway, they’ll notice a sign for wine and feel a wee bit thirsty. They’ll ask to taste some of that, too. While tasting the wine, they might notice a nice outdoor patio area and ask to explore it. When you say yes, they’ll also see a food truck making fresh tacos, and they’ll ask to order some. While ordering taco, they’ll notice a magical picnic area and need to take some photos….

Thus, the Klettke’s ate a second breakfast consisting of tacos from Taco Medic (shout out to Logan for amazing service!), sampled (just Scott) and bought Wet Jacket wine, sampled and bought Whitestone cheese, and left a wee bit happier.

Arriving in Te Anau, we started a load of laundry, and headed out for a hike to the Kemper Gates. It ended up being an easy and fairly flat 5 or so miles round trip. The gates are actually a dam of sorts, and the bridge across leads to one of the Great Walks in the Fjordland National Park. While the walk was enjoyable, we’ll probably drive to the gates next time and then start our hike on the Great Walk trail into the woods. On the walk back into Te Anau we also discovered a bird sanctuary with many native rescue birds.

Our Vegas friends from the boat tour had strongly recommended Paradiso for dinner in Te Anau, and it was just a 10 minute walk from our AirBnB, so we went! We shared a Speight’s beer, a South Island favorite, along with meatballs and gnocchi, and a pizza. We’ve yet to regret ordering pizza. As for Paradiso, we recommend not going famished because the wait was incredibly long with their single wood fire oven. Go at 5p or 8:30p, but not in the middle.

Following dinner, we broke out our cheese and wine, and watched a bit of the Lord of the Rings before an earlier bedtime. Our plan was to wake up early, get breakfast, and drive up to Milford Sound for a hike before our overnight cruise.

More photos available on Smugmug.