6th February On to Haast

A bit of a breezy night but at least no air raid sirens until breakfast time. The 4th one since we arrived so maybe it's used as an alarm system for school children as well as for the fire station volunteers 😄.

Our host delivered freshly cooked cinnamon buns this morning - these went very well with our coffee. As we're booked into hotels with breakfast included for the next couple of days we were making a big effort to eat our yogurts and anything requiring refrigeration. I think we did pretty well.

Leaving Lake Hawea behind us we took Highway 6, the only road north. With a mostly dry sunny day we've had a good drive and made quite a few stops to see the sights. It's been noticeable today that there have been loads of motorbikes on the road. We found out that there's a rally in Invercargill so everyone with a motorbike in South Island seems to be heading there!

Lake Wanaka was next. All looking very turquoise.

We tried a ginger kiss with our cuppa today. A soft ginger bread with vanilla filling - I prefer a biscuit so wasn't impressed. Won't be having another one. Interestingly here in NZ as it's a bank holiday cafes and restaurants charge about 15% extra. Not sure if it's to pay the staff extra or a business thing.

Seen in the cafe window. Must be a well travelled cat 😄.

We took a walk to the Blue Pools. Unfortunately the bridges to get there have been closed for safety reasons so we only got to walk along the river. But it was a pretty spectacular walk.

Ian went for a paddle. Must've been cold as his feet went numb!

At Fantail Falls there seems to be a rock piling fad.

Ian left our contribution to the rock pile art work.

Meanwhile Freddie had gone rogue wading across the river and getting a pit soggy - one pair of shorts now drying out.

After going over Haast Pass we stopped for a look at Thunder Creek falls - our last one of the day and only took us a few minutes to get there.

After checking into our hotel we went to see what was on offer locally.  Not much! A possum and merino clothing shop displaying possum pelts and selling possum tails, 2 bar/restaurants, a small supermarket and a police station. We also went on an endless, straight tree lined road to nowhere! On a positive note we did spot plenty of Pukeko and other birds on the way.

Dinner in the hotel restaurant tonight and off to see a glacier tomorrow.