Friday 7th March 2008

Woke up in Cromwell to another gorgeous sunny morning, Kevin went for a walk around the town while I finished packing the car and paid the account. There was a little internet booth there so I spend 1/2 hour checking and sending emails. Then drove around town to find Kev and we headed off to Wanaka. The agricultural show was on and parking was at a premium. I followed one of those big camper vans into a car park and spotted a small space so I headed for it. Meanwhile, the driver of the camper realized there was no where to park right at the end so he started reversing towards the spot I had my eye on! Anyway, his big camper was no match for the zippy red Corolla ;) He wasn't very pleased with me at all, he was waving his arms around LOL. It was started to get cloudy and cold so we had a quick wander around Wanaka including a lovely coffee, send some postcards home and headed off to Haast Pass.

The trip between Wanaka and Haast Beach was just amazing; waterfalls around every corner, rainforest, mountains, clear mountain streams, and snow on the top of the mountains. The road was so narrow, there was no where to stop to take photos until we actually reached Haast Pass. The photos just don't do it justice. We spent a bit of time wandering around and under the bridge at Haast Pass, with lots of other tourists before stopping in at this waterfall which was only 2 minutes off the road. Then to Haast Beach which was quite ugly - full of debris and rocks. I guess I'm just spoilt with Australian beaches!

We then headed to Fox Glacier. The glacier car park is only 4 kms from the town and then the lookout is only a 5 minute walk. You can do walking tours or land on it in a helicopter. I would be too afraid of crevices and landslides I think!

The town itself was quite pretty but boy do they know how to slog tourists for accommodation! We drove up the road to a little town called Harihari, where we stayed in the only pub and had a lovely pub grub for tea! We asked the publican if he thought the Hokitika Wild Food Festival was worth going to. He said it was pretty good but got a bit out of hand later on. He suggested getting there early, having a good look around and then getting out!