Big Beach

We both must have been exhausted last night because after deciding to watch a TV show before bed, the next thing I knew I was waking up gone midnight, curtains all open and feeling groggy. I think our heads had barely hit the pillow before we fell asleep. It's a good thing though because today was a day of driving. We set off at around 10am, stopping to refuel and pump up the tyres before leaving town for the long journey ahead.

Once again we drove the Haast Pass. The sun was out for us again so the views going back were pretty much the same as before, still beautiful.
We stopped at the Blue Pools on route as we had missed this before and we watched people jump into the freezing water below from the swing bridge. The water here is a gorgeous turquoise blue, hence the name, and those flat round stones are once again everywhere, perfect for skimming. Rob as usual skimmed perfectly and managed to get a few to the other side of the river.

Rob contemplated jumping in, he really wanted to but we still had ages to drive and it meant a trip back to the car for the only just dried out swim shorts, also I don't think the thought of driving for the rest of the day wet and cold was too appealing (or he is just chicken like me).

I built a tower out of the flat rocks to join the others whilst Rob filmed my efforts via time lapse, it was way harder than I had anticipated and it's quite an amusing video to watch back as I keep rearranging the rocks.

Once in Wanaka I decided I was hungry but couldn't bare another peanut butter and jam sandwich. I wish so much we had something else! After sitting for some time trying not to admit that I just wanted to just spend some money on some nice food, and Rob somehow managing not to get too annoyed with me, we eventually found a place I could get some nice slow cooked lamb and delicious salad.

After this it was on to Queenstown...Finally a new stretch of road! The first stretch of road surprised us with another strange roadside oddity, a fence full of bras. So so many! Apparently they have tried to remove them but it fills uo.again so quickly they have given up. No idea how it started but now they seem to be trying to raise breast cancer awareness. Very odd and obviously had to take a snap.
After a shirt while on the flat we took the Crown Range Road, which has the highest point of any main road in New Zealand, just over 1000m so Rob wasn't impressed at all! The view was stunning though. The mountains all opened up into a huge Valley basin and you could make out some of queenstown in the distance. It was beautiful, gorgeous little rolling hills in the valley that shone with a golden hour glow, sheep and hay bails and the Lake in the distance.

The next part of the drive was downhill and we had read it could be a bit tricky with lots of hairpins so we were prepared for it to be a bit if a mission. It really wasn't hard at all though, especially after some of the winding and unsealed West coast roads. The hairpins were hairpins, but they weren't hidden and so we're easy to manoeuvre. I can understand in winter that it wouldn't be great, they get snow falls too, but right now it was just a really great view.

We drove through the main town on route to the camp. Civilisation like we haven't seen in days! An actual countdown supermarket, a McDonald's, and just actual shops! It is a serious tourist town and it is so clear from the minute you get there. Nice lakeside apartments and hotels and so many shops and eateries. I know I loved it here last time so hopefully our wander through town tomorrow will be nice, at the moment it is a but of a shock to see so many people!

We have just enjoyed (I use the term loosely) a tomato and beef soup sauce with noodles and rice pudding for dessert. Turns out creamy chicken soups with rice taste good but strange stew style sound are not good with anything.

Bed time now..looks to be a clear sky so fingers crossed for some star gazing.Lue lisää