Day 6 Friday - Te Anau

After a wonderful Sherwood breakfast (scrambled egg on sourdough and waffles with crème brulé and berries) we headed out of Queenstown for the 100 mile drive to the Fiordland.  For several miles the road clings to the edge of the lake with dramatic mountains above - then it becomes green farmland with lambs scattered in lush countryside.  We also spotted some alpacas and a herd of deer.  After a bit of drizzle during the drive we arrived at Te Anau to blue sky and checked into our accommodation before taking a stroll round the lake.

We visited a bird sanctuary and then had some late lunch and down time before joining a cruise that took us across the lake to the glow worm caves.

The boat ride was lovely in the late afternoon sun and we landed at a wooded area and entered the caves in small groups - we ended up just us with a guide called Vedant and he was very enthusiastic telling us about the formation of caves and the life of glow worms. When it came to taking the boat through the cave, with only two passengers he said we could lie back on the benches and look up to the cave roof to see the tiny strings of light above. With just the lapping of the water against the boat and total darkness apart from the little clusters of light it was a very tranquil experience.  Back on the lake the sun was setting and we were ready to get back to town as tomorrow is going to be a big day.