Beautiful Lake Te Anau is the second largest lake by surface area in New Zealand and the largest in the South Island. It is actually the largest lake in Australasia by fresh water volume. The lake lies at an altitude of 689 feet, but since its maximum depth is 1368 feet, much of its bed lies below sea level. Its name comes from Maori for "The cave of swirling water," but from the city along the beach it is tranquil and peaceful. It looks like a great place for sailboating and swimming when the weather is warmer. The water is crystal clear; the ducks sometimes appear to be floating in space. Here Pegah is trying to make friends with one, but since she hadn't brought anything for it to eat, it wasn't letting her get too close.
I had checked the published church schedule the night before to confirm the Internet posting of mass at St. Bernard Chuch at 9:00 Sunday. We noted the sign, "Mass Saturday 7:00 PM," not realizing that this was the only mass scheduled in that church that weekend, and that the 9:00 mass was for a different church, in the town of Mossburn. Here I am standing in the foyer of the church, looking stupid! It was the first time in many years that I had missed going to church on a weekend. It felt strange! Pegah suggested wisely that God wants me to have a holiday and don't worry about Him. I think she has an excellent point! After breakfast, we headed south to one of the locations in LOTR for the River Anduin.

The natural beauty of the Lake Te Anau area made it an ideal location for filming some of the scenes for Lord of the Rings. Nearby locations were used for The Brown Lands, the desolate and treeless area between Mirkwood and the Emyn Muil, Fangorn Forest, and the River Anduin. Here we found a number of hikers having breakfast and getting ready for their four day tramp along the Kepler Track. We weren't interested in going that far, but I was trying to find the Anduin River site on the Waiau River. We had found many of the rivers in South Island to be fairly narrow and shallow, in flat, rocky beds. Here the Waiau is swift and strong, a real torrent, possibly from the rains the day before.

The bridge here is the location from which we took the picture of the river. It is the link between civilization and the Kepler Track. The Track is obviously intended only for hikers, as bicycles and dogs are prohibited from crossing the bridge. The near end is a rest and parking area with toilets, a huge rainwater tank, and picnic tables to allow hikers to prepare for their long journey. I was interested in the construction of the bridge, which is characteristic of many in New Zealand. During the 1950s, many of them were built, along with backcountry huts, to give hunters access to forested areas to cull introduced deer. Fortunately, we were able to drive back along the excellent state highway to Queenstown.
We took a detour to Arrowtown, a suburb of Queenstown, to check out the location of the Ford of Bruien in The Fellowship of the Ring. The area is somewhat overgrown from what it was in the film. Pegah is standing roughly in the location where Arwen brought the sick and injured Frodo and taunted the black riders on the far side to cross. Since it was Sunday, I had planned to treat Pegah to dinner at the Skyline Restaurant and Luge, located at the top of the hills north of Queenstown. She seemed to enjoy riding the enclosed cable cars up the steep hillside to the restaurant. One can go down much faster on one of the luges, but neither of us was anxious to try that.
Here I am standing on the restaurant balcony, with a magnificent view of Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables. the location for the Misty Mountains, beyond on the left. I kept trying to find the Creeksyde Holiday Park where we were staying, but it was just under the crest of the hill. In the distance it is just possible to make out the line of the road we took to and from Te Anau the previous day. To the right, and right of the lake, are the Eyre Mountains. The air currents here are conducive for parasailing, a popular sport in the area. The two-person parasails are actually inflated airfoils that provide lift, so it is possible not only to glide gently to earth, but also to maneuver and even climb for short distances.
One of the film sites we missed on this trip was Deer Park Heights, the hill on the left. This was the location for scenes from all three of the LOTR films and the trailer for The Fellowship of the Ring. A small lake at the summit of the hill was the backdrop of the orcs invading Rohan and Eowyn leading her people to safety. The area used to be an actual park, with deer and llamas, but is is now closed. On the right is a view of Coronet Peak, 5398 feet above sea level, and the treacherous Skippers Canyon road, which is forbidden to rental vehicles. The machinery at lower left is for The Ledge Bungy and Swing, another AJ Hackett attraction, that allows patrons to swing out over 1300 feet above Queenstown.
Lake Wakatipu is home to the only coal-filed steamship still operating in the southern hemisphere, the TSS Ernslaw. Here it is making its sightseening trip back to Queenstown from the direction of Kinloch and Glenorchy. Watching the boat reminded me of my high school experiences working on a Mississippi River boat of similar purpose. While I was thus engaged, Pegah was working on getting us a table somewhat earlier than the two hours or so wait of which we had been informed. I think that she managed to convince the staff that her poor old sickly father was going to waste away if he didn't eat pretty soon. It must have worked, because we had a table over an hour before what we had been promised.
The Skyline Restaurant was well worth the price of admission. The food was served "all you could eat" buffet style, with every kind of meat, fish, seafood, fruits, vegetables, pastries, desserts, and drinks I could have imagined. Some of them I could not have imagined, including a huge bowl of baby octopus. (I didn't eat any!) I did, however, sample their venison and mutton, and it was the first time in my life that I had ever tasted British plum pudding. I felt that I was much too casually dressed for such a formal establishment until I noticed that the lounge singer, who was serenading us with familiar American country songs, was dressed even less formally then we were, kind of a Kiwi Willie Nelson.
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