Wanaka Day 1

The sun is back and we had a lovely day walking round the Wanaka Lakeside.  We are in a Holiday Park close to the edge of the lake and an ideal spot for walking.  Our morning walk took us to Waterfall Creek Bay (no waterfall but a nice spot) and then back to the lake front at Wanaka.  In the afternoon we walked along the other side of the lake to Eely Point and Bremner Bay past the Wanaka Sailing Club which looked as though it has a busy race programme with Flying Ffifteens and catamaran dinghies.  Back at the Camp we took advantage of the free whirlpool spa and sauna - much needed after a day walking.
We ate in again tonight and had pancakes (homemade not from a mix!) for dessert - a day early as we will probably eat out tomorrow.

  Walk round Lake Wanaka

Millenium trail running along lake side

 

Garden in Wanaka

Shrove Tuesday (a day early!)

Glenorchy to Wanaka

Early Snow!

With snow at 500m and Glenorchy at 300m we decided it was too cold to stay any longer!!  Our next destination was Wanaka and we had a lovely drive there via Arrowtown and the Crown Range Road which is the highest sealed road in New Zealand.

Arrowtown is full of "historic" buildings and the double decker London bus runs every day from Queenstown.  On the edge of the town is the Chinese Settlement which is where Chinese goldminers lived and set up their community.

Remains of buildings in the Chinese Settlement

We stopped several times on the road to Wanaka to take photos of the spectactular views. 

Our Home for the next three weeks

Today we picked up our campervan which will be our home for the next three weeks.  After a very thorough briefing from a DVD we set off to the local market to stock up on fresh food and then on to the supermarket for the basics.  Our destination today was Glenorchy at the head of Lake Wakaputi and we had a lovely drive along the lake side.  Once we reached Glenorchy we found the campsite and then went for a walk along the Glenorchy Way which also gave us an opportunity to find our way round the town and sample the local beer.  Back in our "little home" we settled down for the evening, lovely and cosy while the wind and rain came down outside.

Our lunch stop by the side of Lake Wakatupi

David outside the campervan

The Glenorchy Way - note the snow on the mountains which fell this week

The Lagoon at Glenorchy

The Lagoon again

Glenorchy Marina!

Cooking dinner on our first night

Doubtful Sound

Torrential rain, winds gusting to 50k, flat calm water, rough sea, drizzle, cloud and sunshine - we experienced all this during our 20 hours on board the Fjordland Navigator.    The trip started in Manapouri with a ferry trip across Manapouri Lake where a coach took us to Deep Cove at the head of Doubtful Sound.  We boarded the Fjordland Navigator for an incredible trip of which the weather is part of the experience. We were very lucky to get to see the seal colony at the entrance to Doubtful Sound as the previous day it had been too rough (winds gusting to 60k apparently). 
We kayaked in torrential rain, saw some amazing waterfalls as a result of the heavy rain, saw a pod of around 50 dolphins first thing in the morning, enjoyed the sound of silence in flat calm waters and ate fantastic meals.  This really was a trip away from civilisation and the rest of the world - a fantastic experience.  We took nearly 200 photos between us - these are just a few!

The seal colony at the entrance to Doubtful Sound

Kayaking at Precipice Cove

One of the many waterfalls

The Fjord Navigator comes up close to the rockface

And another waterfall

David getting wet under the waterfall

Low cloud over the mountains

The cloud starting to lift

David outside our cabin

The sun breaking through and showing some of the 40 shades of green in the Sound

A hanging valley

Not too wet in this picture

Approach to Deep Cove at the head of the Sound

Crossing Manapouri Lake on the ferry home

Te Anau

After a wet and windy drive we are now in Te Anau for the night before embarking on an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound.  Te Anau is a lovely little town with nice walks along the lake.  In between the showers we walked along to the "marina" and boat club.  Picture of  "clubhouse" below!

A windy stop en route to Te Anau

Te Anau Boat Club - notices on one side and Club rules on the other

The Marina

The Committee and Rescue Boat

Couldn't resist photographing this "cute" house in Kingston

Queenstown Day 2

The day started off quietly with a gentle stroll round the Queenstown Gardens and then we took a bus out of town to see the Shotover River.  The bus driver dropped us off where we could go for a short walk and watch the jet boating but we thought it looked such good fun that we decided to have a go.  We were kitted out with buoyancy aids and capes before setting off on a brilliant ride down the Shotover River.  The first run through the canyon within inches of the bare rock face was decidely scary and Sara had her eyes closed most of the time but once we got used to the speed (up to 43 knots at times) and the skill of the driver we enjoyed every minute.  It is worth looking at the Shotover Jet Boating, Queenstown website to get an idea of the experience, although it was a lot more scary in real life.
Our evening was spent in the Skyline Gondola Restaurant enjoying a fantastic buffet meal with views across the lake.  For Castle Cove members who may read this we met a couple from Woking who know Fabion Malbon and went to his son's wedding - they also live close to where my Mum was brought up.  It's a small world!

The calm bit!

Approaching the canyon

View from top of gondola

View from Skyline  Restaurant

Queenstown at night from the Skyline Restaurant