About Cruise Te Anau
Welcome to Cruise Te Anau, owned and operated by Chris and Erica Musgrave.
Chris lived out his childhood in Orawia, Southland and has been all over the world working on a range of vessels. While Erica was born in Auckland and also spent all her free time out on the harbour. Chris and Erica moved to Taranaki, where they owned and operated Southern Express. This vessel worked off the coast of Taranaki servicing the oil and gas fields.
After 10 years of Taranaki and all the stress that comes with working in the Oil and Gas sector it was time to move down to Te Anau and chill out. This also means that we are closer to the 3 boys and now the little granddaughter.
Our motto…..”Arrive as Strangers – Depart as Friends“
MV Carousel
I found Carousel in Tauranga where she had been built in 1967/68 and spent many years as a charter & game fishing vessel working out of Tauranga & Mercury Bay in the Coromandel.
We had our first adventure steaming the vessel from Tauranga to Bluff, this is about the same distance as Tasmania to Bluff. Carousel was loaded onto a trailer & travelled by road for the last leg of her journey to Lake Te Anau
I’m happy to share more about our journey to get the vessel here, just ask me when your are on our cruise if you are interested.
About Te Anau & the Lake
Te Anau is a smaller town with a relaxed pace where you need to spend more than 1 night to appreciate. Te Anau is the best base from where one can visit the lake and the surroundings area, and it is the main visitor base for Fiordland National Park.
Te Anau is the ideal place to base yourself to visit Milford &/or Doubtful Sound, there are many smaller group day bus/van tours to to Milford Sound, it is only 240km (150 miles) return from Te Anau – unlike the 650km (400 miles) return bus tour from Queenstown, (13+ hour trip with 9 hours sitting on the bus).
You need to plan to spend at least 3 days in Te Anau.
The lake covers an area of 344 km², making it the second-largest lake by surface area in New Zealand and the largest in the South Island. It is the largest lake in Australasia by fresh water volume and a with a maximum depth of 417 metres is the 3rd deepest lake in New Zealand.
Te Anau is home to many lodges, hotels, motels and campgrounds, so there are plenty of accommodation options to choose from.
There is a great selection of restaurants to suit all tastes.
The town also offers 2 supermarkets and 7-day/week shopping opportunities where you can find high quality apparel, gifts and souvenirs.
There are a full range of services available, including ATMs, service stations, rental cars and medical centre.