Trip to Wanaka

I honestly thought, after my incredible trip north to Picton and Abel Tasman, that the scenery in New Zealand could not get better. Wrong! Different vegetation, of course, but on the day I drove south to Wanaka, the scenery WAS even better! The ever changing landscapes, from plains to foothills and then to lakes and snow- capped mountains, was truly distracting when you are trying to concentrate on the road ahead. No worries if you have all day and can pull over as much as you want. My 450 kilometre journey took 7 hours in total, but I so enjoyed myself.

Lunch stop at Lake Tekapo. Those turquoise waters are simply irresistible, and the weather was perfect.

The Lake District of the South Island is one of the most beautiful places on earth on such a fine day, with so few people around. Today, the spectacular reflections of mountains and lovely clouds in Mount Pukaki just took my breath away. In all the years in NZ I have never seen such a wonderful sight over this lake.

I was completely spellbound. I struggled to tear myself away from this gorgeous place.

How lucky we are to experience such treasures - no money can buy these moments in our lives!

Just over one hour from Wanaka is the beautiful Lindis Pass. Hard to imagine that only one week ago it was covered in a spring dumping of snow. It must have been fantastic then too. But today it was back to the serene beauty of this tussock- clad pass, with its undulating hills and fabulous shadows and contrasts. My mum's favourite pass and certainly mine too. How fitting to be going through here the day after the anniversary of my mother's death.

We hear a lot about ' overtourism' here in NZ, but here there was certainly no sign of it. Here I was alone in this magnificent place!

It was great to be able to wind through the valleys on each side of the pass and to be able to take my time with nobody on my tail. 

As expected, my arrival into Wanaka was also marvelous. Here the wind had picked up over the lake, but with clear skies, the majestic mountains of Mount Aspiring Park were clearer than usual and the entire panorama breathtaking. 

Wow, wow, wow. What a day! Minutes after I arrived, there was a knock on  the door and there was David! Brilliant!

It is always lovely to stay at Edgewater and although the forecast was not great, it didn't matter.

At least the first morning was dry, though unbelievably windy, with wind howling down the valley and across the lake, making the lake seem more like a sea with white caps than the usual tranquil waters. The view from our breakfast table was spectacular.

Luckily, we chose two good walks to do which were amazingly well sheltered from the blustery blast. In the afternoon, we popped out again to visit the iconic Lone Tree, an impressive scene  regardless of weather. In fact, the ominously dark clouds above, the snowy peaks in the distance amd the choppy lake around the tree all added to the beauty of the little willow tree.

Rainy Sunday so perfect to head to a sports bar to cheer on the All Blacks against Argentina. Great atmosphere and good game.

The rain cleared so we could get out for a stroll to look at the many new, elaboratw houses which have just been built. Luckily, there is still plenty of space here and the town has not been spoilt. We must maintain a balance between growth and personal space.

We woke the next day to largely blue skies and gentle breeze. Perfect for one of my favourite walks by Glendhu Bay. We were virtually alone there. How magnificent is this panoramic view over the lake and its surrounding hills and mountain ranges

It was such a lovely walk, hearing about David's work whilst taking in the magnificent scenic walkway up and down the lakeside cliffs, down to white sand beaches strewn with driftwood, with crystal clear waters lapping gently onto the beach. Quite mesmorising actually!

Even the flooded areas by the side of the track were gorgeous with their fantastic reflections.

And here I sit writing this blog. It is so peaceful here, just an idyllic spot. Aren't the tussock grasses fabulous?

The trip home always gives me mixed feelings - sad to say ' goodbye' to David for a while, but on the other hand heading back nearer to Mark. At least the distance apart is never far when I am back in NZ.

It was another fantastic journey with fine weather and little traffic on the roads. I decided to detour to Lake Ohau, a lesser known lake with its own little ski field to one side. It is still pretty majestic and what was particularly memorable was that I never saw another person for 20 kilometres from leaving the main road to getting to the lookout. It was a very strange feeling and did make me hope the car would not break down!

Not much further along the main road, I once more stopped at the renowned Lake Pukaki, my second photo on this blog. I stopped at a slightly different viewpoint, with loads of tourists there, and very different clouds and light. It was still remarkably beautiful, though, and the photo so very different from the one taken only 4 days ago.

The zigzag cloud, the result of the Northerly winds, is pointing directly to our highest mountain, Mount Cook. I was also for once happy to have a couple of people by the lake to get a greater impression of the size of this vast expanse of water and the rocks forming its banks. The water level is rather low but I guess the ice melt is yet to come.
So, another amazing holiday has come and gone but with sensational memories of people and places. Finishing on an amusing note, I loved this cute sign at the hotel! We figured that 'grass seed' would not have been so easily understood by the many foreign guests.