A wet day - rain, lakes and waterfalls

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Day 523 (02.09.08)

It had rained throughout the night and it was still raining in the morning yet we still needed to head south. With high winds and the rain easing we stopped on the side of the road by Bruce Bay to take in the awesome power of the sea as it buffeted the coast.

Mid-morning rolled around and we stopped in at a salmon farm along the way where we were able to feed the fish, enthralled as they jumped and thrashed around to reach the food. We don't usually do this but decided to stop for some coffee and cake in front of the roaring log fire as a respite from the rain. We couldn't resit buying a little bit of salmon for our food stores as well!

Conitnuing along the coast we stopped at Knight's Point Lookout where we saw...nothing but thick white mist in both directions!

Back in the Jucy Green Machine convoy we wended our way further south through the questionable weather crossing the 760m single lane Haast River Bridge before stopping quickly in Haast to fill up and yet another stop at the ‘i site’ to see if there was anything the area had to offer before moving on. Evidently most of the activities around here were more outdoor orientated and required better weather. Filling up at a local petrol station we did however spot a sign for a local delicacy - whitebait. Not able to resist the temptation we did pop in and Dad bought a great big bag of them for dinner. Mmmm thanks pop!

With the rain persisting we pushed on with the aim of reaching the Wanaka area to stay and the road taking us over the Haast pass. With the recent downpour of rain the waterfalls which the pass is famous for were blooming. Taking the short walks to both Thunder and Fantail Falls gave us a bit of a dousing but they were well worth it. As well as the main falls however, the waterlogged mountain was also spilling water from every possible route causing loads and loads of other smaller waterfalls along the roadside, turning it into a very impressive drive.

Dropping down the other side of the pass the weather receded and for the first time that day gave us a sight of blue sky. Following the banks of first Lake Wanaka and then Lake Hawea we were treated to a fantastic rainbow before eventually reaching Wanaka and finding a pad to stay.

With great intentions of going for a walk into town evaporating as soon as we started our first glass of wine we settled in for our fresh whitebait dinner - delicious.

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