One of the best things about going slowly, is that you get to make as many stops as you want without worrying about time and distance. From Manapouri, we drive south towards Tuatapere. On the way we took a detour to Lake Monowai which was flooded in 1925 as part of a hydro scheme to generate electricity. All of the trees on the edge of the lake were drowned and 100 years later, you can still see the skeletal remains of these. During the 1960s, the Government at the time wanted to do the same to Manapouri and Te Anau but there was such a public outcry that the designs for the scheme were modified to ensure the same environmental disaster didn’t happen again. We had a short walk through Beech forest which was just alive with fungi and moss.

A stop at Clifden Suspension Bridge had us marvelling at the engineering of the time. Watching the river water swirling below, the need for a bridge rather than a ferry becomes abundantly clear! Who doesn’t like a bit of Victorian engineering!

We stopped finally in Tuatapere where Don worked in 1980 when he was in the Forestry Service. One of the things that never ceases to amaze me and make me smile is how towns and settlements decorate their public toilets – some are real works of art! Tuatapere is home to a world famous sausage and naturally, there is a giant one outside one of the campsites. There is a beautiful war memorial and lovely old railway station that looks like it is in the process of being renovated. Whilst it is a quiet town, it had a really nice feel to it. We also had a great short walk through the Domain where we were followed by three fantails on our way to see a 1,000yr old Totara tree which was HUGE!