Historic Mining town & Glenorchy Drive

We drove along Lake Wakatipu to Glenorchy. This is a prime example of, "The journey is the destination." The entire winding drive along the lakeshore was beautiful. It helped that the weather was great. The sunlight made the lake glow an amazing blue-green.

Several stops along the way gave us a history lesson in the mining past of the area and more great scenery. The first stop was the Mt Crichton Look Track. Here early settlers mined for gold. Channels carved into the rocks, and even carved through the rocks, enabled waste rock from the mining to be disposed in the river. Crawling through the dry channel let to a beautiful hidden waterfall. On top of the hill, a historic hut of a miner showed what life was like back then.

Bob's Cove was another trail off the main road. A walk to the top of the headland gave stunning views back down the peninsula and the beautiful waters below.

We continued as far as we could for the day and parked our van along the lake. Before going to bed, a refreshing dip in the cold waters was great after hiking for much of the day. And the following morning we did the same. Great start to the day!Read more