It was still raining when I got up to leave Fox Glacier, but luckily when I checked the road conditions the Haast Pass was open. Yay me!  I did not have to spend a lot of time backtracking north to a different pass to get to Wanaka, my final stop for the day.  I was pleased to discover that 30 minutes south of. Fox Glacier blue skies magically appeared and the drive instantly became more pleasant.  In addition, I was continuing my southern drive through a large valley so the road was also straight although I was anticipating that changing as I approached the pass later in the day.

Bruce Bay looking south.

I took my time on the drive, stopping often to take in the views and snap some pictures (still trying to sort out the differences between what my camera was doing and the camera on my iPhone!).  I frequently saw the same people at the various stops; clearly there was a number of us heading across the pass now that it was open.  The stops included one at Bruce Bay and random look-out points, all well marked.  The whole area around Haast, on the southern part of the west coast, has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the natural beauty and landscapes.  As a matter of fact, there are a ton of rivers dumping into the Tasman sea, which translated to a lot of one lane bridges.  The bridges are easy to navigate as there was not much traffic going north.  (I wonder what happens in the summer…).

As I approached Haast, a small town of, no kidding, 90 people, the road turned east to follow the Haast River up and through the pass.  As a matter of fact it is not possible to drive any further south than Haast on the west coast. Further south is a large national park and below that is Milford Sound which you have to approach from the east side of the mountains.  As I turned east to head into the mountains and through the pass, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the road remained at river level. So even though there were a bunch of twists and turns, I was not climbing and descending making it easier to pull off frequently and enjoy the spectacular views of the river.  Unfortunately driving into the mountains also meant driving into the low clouds that have been perpetually surrounding them, so I was in and out of rain more frequently.

One of the stops along the Haast River. There was a waterfall nearby, too. Was in and out of clouds most of the drive through the mountains.

At some point, which I missed, we crossed the continental divide and I noticed the river was now flowing in the other direction.  I was now following the Makarora river, which empties into a series of lakes near Wanaka.  I am not sure when the switch happened. As I emerged from the pass on the east side of the mountains, the scenic stops increased. One famous stop is the Blue Pools, so-called because of the color of the water that empties out of the Blue River where it merges with the Makarora.  It’s a popular swimming spot in the summer and I was a bit shocked to see some young people taking a dip, despite the rain and 50 degree temperature.  (I can only imagine what temperature the water was!).  They provided a short entertainment interlude for the rest of us who were at the pools at the time.

The source of the “blue water” that forms the blue pools. I took this from (another!) swinging bridge over the water.

The “blue pools” where the water from the Blue River hits the muddy water of the main river. The pool is very calm which makes it a popular swimming hole (even in October!)

The Makarora River dumps into Lake Wanaka and the city of Wanaka, my destination, sits at the southern most shore of the huge, huge lake, 54 km away from my first encounter with the lake.  The views were spectacular and a bit distracting.  The road climbed over a divide and I also had great views of Lake Hawea, which runs parallel to Lake Wanaka and is almost as big.  I pulled over a lot!

The sun was shining when I got into Wanaka and I found the campground, checked in then drove back to downtown, determined to enjoy the beautiful shoreline and views of the mountains while I could. The forecast for the following day predicted another whole day of rain so it was going to be an inside day.  There are a lot of lakefront bars and restaurants and I planted myself at one, enjoying pizza and a beer while basking in the sun and the expansive mountain views.  Then back to the campsite to get set up for the night.

Lake Hawaea. The different blues in the water were especially picturesque.

Another view of Lake Hawea as I crossed over the divide between the two lakes.

The next day did indeed bring rain (and cold) the whole day.  I had a lazy morning, not in a hurry to get out in the weather.  There were two indoor activities that I targeted for the day– a visit to the National Transport and Toy museum and to the Puzzling Place.  I did not really know what to expect from either, but my research indicated that both places were worth visiting, so I put them on my list.  The National Transport and Toy museum was slightly out of town but I easily found it.

An example of one part of one of the hangers, stuffed to the gills with cars (and trucks and whatever).

If you are a car enthusiast and are ever in Wanaka, NZ, I highly recommend that you visit this museum.  The collection was started by a gentleman who really loved cars and it grew to encompass, trucks, airplanes, motorcycles, scooters, construction equipment, fire trucks–almost anything related to transportation, but weirdly enough, not boats (notwithstanding the lake nearby).  They have, currently on display, over 600 different models.  The cars range from a model T from the early 1900s to some 1980 models.  There are a lot of cars and trucks of various from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s.  The whole collection covers 5 huge hanger size buildings.  In addition to the vehicles, there is a large toy museum and then random collections of stuff.  The museum was a weird cross between heavy focus (vehicles and toys) and then “themes”  such as:  a whole hanger wall of spoons from everywhere, a collection of old sewing machines, typewrites, radios, TVs, and other random stuff.  I asked one of the ladies that worked there why the varsity and apparently the founder like to visit flea markets and antique sales, so would create these mini-collections.  Regarding the toys:  this is the place to find anything related to Star Wars and Legos.  There is also a very large doll collection, including Barbies and just about all kinds of other figurines and theme toys.  It’s all actually a little overwhelming and I spent a little over two hours wandering around trying to take it all in.  it looked like they had even more stuff in some stowage buildings in the back of the property and when I asked, I was told that people donate items to the museum– they are not actively collecting anymore.  But still, the curation task must be horrible!

There were display cases like this all over. This one is full of salt and pepper shakers (and ONLY salt and pepper shakers). I lost count of the display cases of Star Wars stuff….

The “Wall of Hot Wheels”. Not the only Hot Wheels display, but it gives you an example. (Matchbox also had its own place). There were hundreds (!) of model cars, toy cars etc..

I was not impressed with the Puzzling Place, although after visiting their main attraction, which had a lot to do with different types of optical illusions spread out through “experience rooms”, I hung out at the cafe, where they have puzzles of various types spread out over the tables to challenge people.  Nonetheless, it was a good inside activity.  Since it was late afternoon by the time I had completed my visits to both places, and the weather was horrible, I headed back to the campground, plugged in and made some lunch/dinner then curled up with a book in my cozy camper van.  The coziness was challenged later that evening, however, when the temperature began to drop further, getting cold enough to start snowing!  I added a few layers to compensate and sure enough, there was snow on the ground when I happened to look out of the window around 6am.  Disgruntled, I turned over and went back to sleep.  Later, when I got up around 9am, most of the snow in the campground and around Wanaka had melted.  But the mountains surrounding the city and the lake had a fresh coat and the views were even more magnificent than the pervious ones.

At one of the great views on the trail near Wanaka.

Since it was sunny, I decided to walk up the iron Horse Trail, just outside of town which offered scenic views of the area, including both lakes.  The trail was a bit steep, even though it only rose 55om, and I took my time, lingering in places where the views were already worth stopping to appreciate.  At the top, the vista was breath-taking and I stayed up there for quite a while watching the sun and clouds choreograph dancing shadows across the face of the different peaks.  There was a steady stream of people coming and going– everyone was out enjoying the day!  Since tomorrow I leave Wanaka and will be off the grid somewhat, I treated myself to a late lunch/early dinner of New Zealand mussels at one of the lake front restaurants (so I could still enjoy the view) and gelato afterwards.  I also made a quick trip to the grocery store to stock up on food for the next three days.  Then back to camp to settle in for the day.

Tomorrow is a long drive- at least six hours….

Wanaka is surrounded by mountains (360 degrees) and sits on a lake and near another lake. It cannot get more scenic than that…

An example of the play of sun, clouds and light on the mountains. Ever-changing!