Te Anau, New Zealand

Te Anau translates in Maori to "place of the swirling waters." That's impressive, considering that it borders a lake that offers a jetboat ride that gives tourists the chance to do 180-degree turns at high speeds.

Te Anau is something of a base camp for those visiting Fiordlands National Park. It's about 70 miles from the edge of Milford South, and there aren't many places to eat or sleep in between. So it's a good spot for visitors. Te Anau has about 4,000 beds available for visitors in the summer. Its geographic value certainly increased when the Homer Tunnel was built in 1953. It made the trip to Milford Sound much easier. The population is only about 3,000. 

The town's star attraction might be Lake Te Anau, which borders downtown. It's the second-largest lake in New Zealand in terms of size and volume. That makes it a good spot for the usual outdoor activities like fishing and boating. 

Sometimes you can be sitting on the boat in the middle of that lake and if you're lucky, the clouds will serve as a ribbon that crosses the middle of the adjoining mountains.  That happened in our visit.