Te Anau (pronounced 'tee-AH-noo') is a small lakeside town distinguished mainly by its proximity to Fiordland National Park. The town itself has little to recommend it, as with any town where the chief industry is tourism. A proliferation of overpriced restaurants, mostly serving greatest-hits Italian fare, runs along the main drag, competing for space with hiking shops and sightseeing merchants masquerading as tourist information hubs. It does, however, offer the single cheapest Fat Duck dining experience currently available, even factoring in the airfare. But no one comes here for the town.
I was staying in a hostel on the accurately named Lakefront Drive. After my last experience I was prepared for the worst but it turned out to be surprisingly decent. The dorm room, though comparable in setup, had its own bathroom and a separate living space. There was even a balcony from which you could comfortably study the lake. Best of all it was clean and neutral-smelling. At the end of my strenuous daytime excursions it was bliss to be able to sink into an armchair and read about peregrines undisturbed.
I would step out of a morning to a grey rolling lake and fog-eaten mountaintops. Whatever my destination, I would always start by spending a few minutes on the pebbled lake edge, often in enlivening briskness. In the evenings, an orange sun dipped to cast perfect light across the water and phone photographers lined the shore, offering their tech to the gods.