Lake Te Anau

In 1948 the unique glow-worm caves were rediscovered after much searching. The Te Ana Au Caves, which are accessible only from the lake, are, in geological terms, very young and have little in the way of stalactitic formations. To a visitor entering the caves through the low entrance passage after the half-hour crossing of the Lake Te Anau, however, they are still extraordinarily impressive. The boat travels into the cave as far as an underground waterfall, from which visitors are taken in another boat to the marvelous Glow-worm Cave. Glow-worms, the larvae of insects that can live only in conditions of fairly high humidity, produce long sticky threads like a spider's web to which other small insects are attracted by the faint light generated by the glow-worms during the digestive process. It is dark and quiet in the Glow-worm Cave, with the glow-worms twinkling like stars. The trip to the caves starts and finishes at the Te Anau landing stage; the caves can only be reached by boat.

At the southeast end of the lake is the tourist resort of Te Anau (pop. 3000), which has increased enormously in size in recent years. It offers a wide range of accommodation for visitors and is a good base for excursions in Fiordland National Park and the Southern Alps.

In 1948 a few specimens of the takahe, a flightless bird which was thought to be extinct, were rediscovered in the remote Murchison Range, on the west side of Lake Te Anau. They can also be seen in the wildlife park at Te Anau.