You shall not (Haast) Pass

Having conquered a few passes in South America this was the first in NZ. The lowest of the passes it still has plenty of views and mini walks along the way so took us most of the day to complete.

We offered a ride to a young Canadian from the hostel who was doing a multi day Copland track. He'd travelled through Asia and hoped to go to Oz next before heading back home and working as a rafting/ ski instructor in Canada. Nice life!

The Haast pass gave us two waterfalls, one roaring (Roaring Billy) and one thunderous (Thunder falls). Reaching the top of the pass after numerous photo stops we headed up the (steep) hill to the look out. As James says you must go up for the best views. If Anaesthetics fails I might try and invent the jetpack for a easy way up! Or just improve my fitness....

The sun was setting as we apporached the lakes, bathing the hills in a golden colour and then turning the sky purple. We arrived into Wanaka in the dark to a warm fire in the Wanaka bakpaka. With a private twin room booked as a treat (no smells or weird people that turn heaters off! /open windows/go to sleep early) it was lovely.

Whilst we were in South America someone had recommended the Cinema Paradisio here in Wanaka so we duly headed out for the first cinema night of our trip. A small place with two screens we shared a box of popcorn and enjoyed our beers whilst sat in the back of a convertible car! Whisked away by the suprisingly good Wonder Woman film the screen turned black for an intermision. Something I've missed in modern cinemas. Here you got freshly baked cookies that melted in the mouth. This is how cinema should be done!Read more