THE KIWI KRONICLES

Monday was a day of rest and visual enjoyment. We stayed pretty close to the campsite and the camper. The surrounding scenery certainly helped with the contentment of doing nothing. It was a really good day.

Tuesday ( Day 68 ) was a beautiful day. Every day starts off fairly cool but by noon it is starting to get really hot. In the morning we drove down to Lake Wanaka, parked at the I Site in order to walk around. The setting was pretty nice. We are at the south end of the lake on Roy Bay which has a beach as well as the Marina. Directly across the street is a collection of Cafe's, Shops and Tour Kiosks. I do believe we are in a true holiday mode here as opposed to a touring mode. Another spot we could definitely come back to.

Lake Wanaka from Rob Bay

Rob Bay, Marina and Wanaka

Across from Rob Bay

The afternoon found us hiking part of the Lake Wanaka Outlet Track. The track goes for miles but we hiked the section from the mouth of the Clutha River into Alberttown and back. I am not sure of the distance but it was an evenly paced 2 1/2 hour hike. The trail was mostly flat so it wasn't that difficult of a walk but it was extremely nice. It is on the list "101 Things a Kiwi Must Do"

View of Lake Wanaka from mouth of Clutha River

The walk followed the Clutha River which starts here at Lake Wanaka and ends at the Pacific Ocean near Balclutha. The river has a rich turquoise color to the water and that is derived from the glaciers in Mt. Aspiring National Park. They feed the rivers that flow into the lake, which acts as a settling pond between the sources and the start of the river, leaving the mineral rich water with its exquisite color. The water is extremely clear. Clear-flowing glacial rivers are the rarest in the world.

Once we completed the walk we headed back to the campsite and settled in for the remaining of the day. Two nights ago we were treated to the mountain changing color and taking on a white hue.

Well, tonight we had the pleasure of watching the mountain turn red. Quite spectacular, we find ourselves being drawn to this place more and more.

The sun has gone. We woke up to rain and it continued to rain up until we left Haast and for most of the morning. This road is reported to be one of the nicest drives on the west coast but the cloud coverage was so low that we could only see the hills and nothing of the mountains behind them. It was this point that I realized that we had fallen into the "take it for granted" trap. We couldn't see the mountains and while we were disappointed with the rain, we almost missed the beauty that was there. As the clouds or mist moved down the mountains giving only glimpses of what lay behind, it was in itself breathtaking. This country really is beautiful, it doesn't matter what the setting is.

At about the 1/3 mark of the drive we came to the first of three waterfalls we wanted to get pictures of. They were Roaring Billy Falls, Thunder Falls and Fantail Falls. All of them were off the highway anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. It was still raining when we approached the first one and we thought we were going to get wet. However, it stopped raining shortly after our arrival which made for a pleasant walk and a good way to get the legs going.

Roaring Billy Falls

Roaring Billy Falls flows into this river

Trail to Roaring Billy Falls

Thunder Falls

Fantail Falls

Somebody was busy or had a lot of time

We made a couple of other stops, one of which was quite quick, a photo op really. Clarke Bluff is where the Haast and Landsborough Rivers come together. The Landsborough Valley is home to a three day rafting trip that is really popular.

What came next was an unbelievable stretch of scenery unlike any I have seen. It started with the Blue Pools of Haast Pass. It was our best hike and best stop of the morning. The pools derive their name from the distinctive blue of the water. The blue color is a result of light refraction on the clear, snow fed, icy cold water. The water is so clear you can see the brown and rainbow trout swimming in the pool.

The Blue Pools

Stream leading to the Blue Pools

The Blue Pools

The rest of the drive into Wanaka had us continue through Haast Pass until we came to Lake Wanaka which we followed for quite a period of time, not sure of the actual distance. The lake was on our right and then we jogged slightly and now we had Lake Hawea on our left. The visual collection was unprecedented and really, truly breathtaking.

Haast Pass

Lake Wanaka

Lake Hawea

The miles flew by and the next thing we knew we were in Wanaka. We should have gone back and did the drive again. Instead we drove through Wanaka and found the Top 10 Holiday Park and pulled in for the night. We were in for a treat when we got to our spot.

View from Campsite

View from Campsite

The view was pretty nice, but it got better. As the sun started to set we watched the look of the landscape change before our eyes. It was pretty amazing.

It was pretty amazing. The day was pretty amazing, we saw it all. I think we may have to stay here for a few days.

THE KIWI KRONICLES

Day 67 & 68 Wanaka, Lake Wanaka Outlet Walk

Day 66 Haast, Lake Wanaka