Days 131: Kayaking on Lake Te Anau

While in Te Anau, we stayed with John and his son, Jasper.  John works for DOC, and has a great house that is majority solar powered, and a delight to stay in.

But even better, he let us borrow two kayaks to go onto Lake Te Anau for the day.

It was gorgeous, as you can see.

We ended up really appreciating our stay with John.  If we had simply passed through Te Anau, or stayed at a backpacker, we would have thought of the town as just another touristy place in New Zealand, but staying with a local, and one so connected to nature and his community, we really liked the place.

At one point, a friend of his called to invite him on a weekend trip to Doubtful Sound.  It was a simple outing, just some fishing, some scuba, and some hunting.  When we pointed out to him that what is an every day, ho hum weekend for him is something that some people wait their entire lives to do, and pay thousands for, he laughed.  We try to ask Kiwi's if they still notice and realize what a beautiful country they live in--most make a point to try and appreciate what they have, at least some of the time.

We're still in awe, though.