February 6, 2026
It rained heavily overnight, and in the morning it was mostly cloudy but the rain had stopped. We checked out of the room early and managed to get past Queenstown before the traffic became bad. The traffic was steady but heavy all the way south. The road followed the shore of Lake Wakatipu. We stopped at the southern end of the lake and walked to wharf that was near a train station. We walked around a park that had nice views of lake.
We drove further south to the Fairlight Railway station. We could not access the building: the gate was shut across the driveways and a brand new fence was around the area. We read some information signs outside and took a few photos.
We drove the rest of the way to Lake Te Anau. By this time the weather was partly cloudy but there were some strong winds around the lake, which made it feel cold. We stopped to visit the Te Anau Bird Sanctuary. This spot was a favorite and our third visit. The sanctuary cares for the endangered Takahe flightless birds. We saw a group of 3 Takahe and another group of 4. The posted signs said there were 2 pairs, each with a yearling chick and another had hatched a few days ago, still in the nest.
At the sanctuary we met our friend Graham Meech, who will be joining us for the multi-day hike on the Milford Track. We watched the Takahe together.
It was now past 2 PM and time to check into our lodging at the Te Anau Lakeview Holiday Park. Our room was a kitchen cabin with a king bed, 2 extra single beds, sheets and a comforter on top of each bed, but we had to make up the beds. No towels were provided. The shared bathroom was a short walking distance away, and the facility was very clean and nice. Wifi reception was acceptable near the bathroom but was terribly slow in the cabin. I could not keep a connection on my phone or on the computer. I had to give up uploading photos to my web log since the connection was way too slow. Further updates will have to wait.
We fixed dinner: eggs and potatoes again to finish our perishable food. I also had a sandwich with ham and a salad with mayonnaise and honey mustard dressing.
After dinner Graham joined me for a walk back out to the lake. We took the trail from the visitor center to the bird sanctuary and then walked down to a small wharf.
Back at the cabin I spent the evening packing for our upcoming multi-day hike on the Milford Track. Clouds rolled in, so there was no good sunset.