Molly and I woke up feeling pretty sore after our hike yesterday (dang switchbacks). So what better way to work out those tense muscles than going on a 11-mile hike?? (Fun fact – lots of things could be better such as a nice warm bath, a massage, laying in bed all day…)

But alas, we were in New Zealand! We would be doing our trip a great disservice if we didn’t enjoy the beautiful views and weather. So off we went to walk from the Dock Bay control gate to Rainbow Reach and back. Estimated to be 11-miles and 7 hours return.

The Kepler track was quite beautiful and didn’t have the elevation like yesterday’s track. It was a nice, steady walk. I enjoyed seeing the sea of ferns and the different colored moss. I love nature and discovering new things I’ve never seen before. Oh, such beautiful flora and fauna! (I’ve literally not used those terms since 8th grade zoology/botany).

But as it happens, Molly and I are a pretty competitive pair. So if you say part of Kepler is going to take 7 hours return, we’re going to do it much faster. Don’t get me wrong, we enjoyed our walk and took plenty of pictures. We sipped on water and rested our backs. But for the most part, we didn’t poke around. We meant serious business in our recreational walk.

When all was said and done, we did the 7-hour return walk in 4 1/2 hours. And our legs felt every bit of it. I did a few deep stretches back at the car, but I already knew the damage was done. Tomorrow I would feel very sore.

So that’s something to look forward to! Ha.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon drinking lots of water and resting. I also did a quick little load of laundry which will be very helpful in the days to come. By around dinner time, we made reservations at one of our favorite spots in town. We always go there for the live music and drinks, but now we’d be fancy and have dinner.

The dinner was next level delicious. We had grilled octopus for an appetizer, and Molly and I split the smoked salmon and a steak. Y’all. Yuuuuuummmmm. If you’re ever randomly in Te Anau, I can’t recommend The Redcliff Cafe enough.