Te Anau is the small town on the eastern edge of Lake Te Anau. The lake is the largest on South Island, and the second largest in New Zealand after Lake Taupo. The town is perhaps best known for being the gateway to the beautiful Milford Sound. Also close to the town is the magnificent Te Ana-au Cave complex. The caves are still - in geological terms - very young, as they are about 12,000 years old, and are still being carved out by the force of the water that flows through them.
A section of the caves is illuminated by thousands of glow worms, which makes for truly spectacular viewing. Incredibly, the caves were only discovered in 1948, after three whole years of searching. In 1945, explorer Lawson Burrows began to follow clues from old Maori legends, but they were not easy to find - even today their entrance is obscured.
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