Day 13 – Coronet Peak and Te Anau

Looking toward Frankton and Lake Wakatipu from Coronet Peak

We were a bit slow getting started and so I wandered down to reception to see if we could have a later checkout. Not a problem I was told. 

After packing the car we went for a walk to get a coffee at another favourite haunt but we found that due to Covid they only did takeaway coffees. So we went to another place and had our daily dose. 

Bev had never been to Coronet Peak so I took her up for a look at the area. It is probably about 30 years since I was last up there and what a change. When I was a student going up there it was a gravel road whereas it is now all sealed and the facilities look really good compared to 45 years or so ago when I was skiing and able to do a parallel turn. 

We called into Arrowtown and had a bite to eat before driving to Te Anau. It was an interesting drive through a relatively arid landscape. I had expected to see lots of dairy farms but there were none that I saw in that area. Clearly it was too dry. The focus seemed to be on dry stock. 

Te Anau, our destination for today, felt a bit abandoned. We stayed in a very nice newly constructed unit which was within walking distance of the village. After a drink in the late afternoon sun sitting outside at the local pub, we decided on takeaways for dinner and found a Chinese restaurant nearby. We were delighted with the quality of the food.