If you haven’t read the previous episode yet, click here first.
1. Leaving Dunedin Behind and Heading to Te Anau
After spending several days surrounded by wildlife in Dunedin,
it was finally time to move on!
Our next destination?
📍 Te Anau
We planned to stay there for two nights.
On the drive to Te Anau, we ran into a bit of rain.
The wind was pretty strong too,
and the weather felt noticeably cooler.
Since our Queenstown stop was coming up soon,
I decided it was time for an important experiment:
McDonald’s vs. Fergburger
For proper scientific comparison purposes, of course 😂
So we stopped for McDonald’s on the way.
One thing I learned in New Zealand:
Iced Americanos are surprisingly expensive.
☕ Hot Americano: around 5 NZD
🧊 Iced Americano: around 8–9 NZD
And most cafés don’t exactly give huge portions either.
McDonald’s, on the other hand?
Big cup, lower price.
If you’re someone who drinks a lot of iced coffee,
McDonald’s is honestly a great option.
The View from Our Te Anau Accommodation
After finishing lunch,
we arrived in Te Anau and checked into our accommodation.
The first thing we bought?
Laundry coins 😂
Since some of our previous accommodations didn’t have washing facilities,
our laundry pile had become… impressive.
One washing cycle and one dryer later,
everything was clean, fresh, and ready for the rest of the trip.
2. A Relaxing Day in Te Anau
We intentionally used Te Anau as a recovery stop.
Instead of filling every hour with activities,
we booked just one tour for the day
and spent the rest of our time talking, cooking, and relaxing together.
Honestly,
it was probably the longest uninterrupted time we had together during the entire honeymoon.
Sometimes that’s the best part.
On the way to buy groceries,
I picked up a kiwi bird T-shirt too 🥰
Back at the accommodation,
my wife made an incredible pasta using the ingredients we bought.
It was so good that the next morning
we even put the leftovers on toast.
New Zealand beef is surprisingly affordable,
so we ended up eating quite a lot of it throughout the trip.
It’s generally a bit leaner than what we’re used to,
but overall, it was delicious.
3. Te Anau Glowworm Tour
That evening,
we headed to the Glowworm Tour.
We had already booked everything in advance,
so all we had to do was show our QR code and board.
The boat was completely full,
and the ride to the cave took around 30 minutes.
If you go up to the second deck,
it’s completely open-air,
which means you get to enjoy both the daytime scenery
and the nighttime views on the way back.
(Our booking was at 8:15 PM, and I think the sun finally set around 9:30 PM.)
There were a lot of Chinese tour groups,
so we ended up being assigned to a non-Chinese-speaking group.
Unfortunately,
photography isn’t allowed inside the caves,
so I don’t have any photos to share 😂🙏
The Truth About the Glowworms
Let’s talk about what they actually are.
We entered the cave and boarded a small boat,
floating silently through complete darkness.
The interesting thing is,
they aren’t technically fireflies.
They’re actually glowworm larvae,
and the light they produce is used to attract food.
To be honest,
my first reaction wasn’t “Wow!”
It was more like…
“Hmm… that’s a little underwhelming.”
I think the Blue Penguin Tour in Dunedin had raised my expectations way too high 😂
Still,
after the tour, the guide showed us videos and explained how everything worked.
That part was genuinely fascinating.
(Although I was slightly shocked when I learned they sometimes eat each other 😳)
A Thought I Had on the Way Back
While listening to the guide,
I started thinking about those tiny creatures.
They’re living their lives deep inside a dark cave,
working hard every day just to survive.
And somehow that made me think:
“I should work hard too. Together with my wife.”
A surprisingly deep thought to have while looking at glowworms 😂
We boarded the boat back to shore
and spent the ride on the upper deck enjoying the night view.
My wife and I talked about all sorts of things on the way back.
I think we were discussing future plans, housing, and life in general.
The kind of conversations that make you realize:
“We’re becoming proper adults now.”
With another early morning scheduled for the next day,
we headed back to the accommodation
and happily drifted off to sleep. 😴✨
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