Te Anau in Maori means 'cave of the rushing water' and there is a famous set of caves here on the opposite shoreline of New Zealand's second largest lake that expands to 53 kms in length and 8 - 9 kms in width. There was a purpose to my picking Te Anau. I arrived in the late afternoon and headed straight for the only bicycle renter within a 50 mile radius of this area. My plan, the next day, was to make an assault from the base of Milford Sound through the Homer Tunnel on a bike. This was to be the first of a couple of hill climbs I enjoy doing. The Homer Tunnel was at the top of a canyon at 1207 metres (3900 ft.) and the climb would be 19 kms (11 miles). I eventually found my bike renter and asked about a bike. He wanted to known where I would be taking it to, a legitimate question. When I said Milford Sound and the Homer Tunnel, the tone changed and he refused to rent one out. We argued back and forth for half an hour. If I had brought a bike it would have been fine but awkward to transport around a country. He still refused and I left bikeless and thoroughly disappointed. It was getting late so I found a place to eat and retired to drive down to the sound the next morning.

The length of road from Te Anau to the Milford Sound, all 119 kms (74 miles) of it, is regarded as the most scenic road in all New Zealand. As I got breakfast I passed the tourist centre which was posting its daily local weather chart. The news was not good, possibility of rain in Milford, odd thunderstorms. No sooner than I drove away the sprinkle of raindrops started. As I climbed away from the Eglington plains, into the heart of rocky landscapes, the road twisted and the rain got heavier. I arrived at the east entrance to the Homer Tunnel and pulled off to the side of the road on a gravel carpark. Now it was sleeting and there was evidence of snow on the roadside from the last winter's fall. It was getting cold. I couldn't see anything though the fogged car windows, so I opened my car door to check how bad it was. Clouds were hanging low and then I had my first and only encounter with a Kea parrot. These creatures dwell in highlands and have a coat that resembles army-type camouflage, green in colour. The bird waddled up to the car door so I threw out some biscuits. The Kea bird lapped it up. They are inquisitive ,unafraid of humans and will tear up your windscreen wipers, bike saddles and anything else they can get into their sharp hooked beak into.That's why they're considered a pest to the Kiwi natives.There are even legends of them sliding down corrigated roofs on their backs!! I did however get a shot of the many dozens of waterfalls that form over the Cleddau canyon walls on the other side of the tunnel. (see below)

Some people like it in the rain here and you have to expect it because this small area gets 6 metres (almost 20 ft.), yes 6 metres of annual rainfall. It seemed to be all coming down that day and as I proceeded through the tunnel I began to realise why the bike renter refused me. Blasted out of pure rock, this half mile tunnel has sharp jagged edges to its walls, a road surface that is convex ,dipping either side into gullies. Then there's the traffic of tour buses, ice and fog together with poor lighting and you'd want to be mad in the head to cycle through that. I inched my way past a tour bus coming up the tunnel, and I mean inched past. There is no room for error, anybody on a bike would be instant strawberry jam between a bus and the tunnel wall. Finally I arrived at the fjord carpark only to be greeted by hoards of swarming sandflies which are like small mosquitoes and they bite. Normally in sunny weather the area is truly amazing with steep cliff faces either side of the fjord and you can take a glass-bottomed cruise ride out the sound and see the dolphins trail you. Not today sunshine, just fog and rain. (see below)

I take refuge in a local cafe. You can bump into any nationality in the world in this place because its a world heritage park and the starting point for hiking on the Milford track, regarded by experienced hikers as the best in the world. It was amazing to see tourists board cruise boats at the pier and disappear into fog, what did they hope to see? Some tourists now head for the less crowded but more southerly Doubtful & Dusky Sounds at the very Southwesterly tip of South Island. No sooner was I out of the area than the weather cleared up within 25 miles. I stopped briefly at Te Anau Downs (see below)