Franz Josef to Wanaka

It was another lovely morning as we left Franz and once again the helicopters were out. We headed on to Fox Glacier and enjoyed some walking around there before continuing south. 

The Salmon Farm cafe provided one of the few lunch stops along the way and would have been great for those who like salmon ... but I don't! We found a couple of other options for eating and watched the salmon jumping in the pools a bit before heading towards Haast. Our motel was actually a bit out of Haast on the Jackson Bay Road ... quite remote. At night I don't  think I've ever been in a darker place ... no lights from cars, houses or anything!!

Before dinner we drove down to Jackson Bay which is a very small fishing settlement. There is a very long wharf which we walked on, and like many young men like to do, Tarun scared me by stepping out and balancing on bits he shouldn't have. It was a long drop to a very cold sea. There was a little crayfish cafe there which was closed but I loved the signs telling us to not get too close to the Penguins. 

We drove back to the motel and cooked dinner then went walking around the estuary. It was very very still and there were some perfect reflections that were very beautiful.

The next morning was wet!!! I had looked forward to travelling through the Haast Pass on a nice day but it wasn't to be. Although it would have been absolutely beautiful on a nice day, the mistiness of the mountains was still quite lovely in a different way. 

 

It's been over 50 years since I was in Wanaka. I knew it had grown since then but I wasn't quite prepared for just how much. Trying to find a park was worse than it is in Auckland .... even the supermarket carpark was full. 

We'd only just arrived and were driving along the lake front (in the rain) when Tarun spied the group of young people he'd met up with in Motueka and Hokitika. They were going wall climbing so he went off with them while I checked into the timeshare we are staying in for the week.

When he returned he said he wanted a snack before dinner!!  The snack included 2 boiled eggs, 3 slices of bread, half a chicken and a whole container of coleslaw. A snack!!!

Saturday morning Tarun went on a long walk with his friends and I drove into Queenstown to pick up Ainsley from the airport as she was having a week with us and a break from kids. The drive over the Crown range was unbelievably beautiful with quite a bit of low cloud lying around.

Ainsley was very happy to arrive in Queenstown to beautiful day. There was no hurry to get back to Wanaka so we drove back via the Cromwell Road and the wineries. First stop was Gibbston Valley winery for lunch and a bottle of Pinot Noir. 

There were a few more stops for wine tastings and to pick up some of the last of the stone fruit.

By the time we returned to Wanaka the afternoon was very warm and Ainsley braved a swim in the lake ... It was just a short swim!!