We get to Lake Mathieson thirty-minutes earlier than yesterday and have to wait for a parking space to become available. The better weather, and the fact that the lake's surface is more likely to be smooth early in the day, has encouraged increased attendance. Again, we do the full circuit of the lake.

 

The best two viewpoints are 'View of Views' and 'Reflection Island'. The water's surface is almost perfectly still, and the clear visibility enables identification of Mounts Cook and Tasman, the perfectly white clouds adorning the peaks. A delightful walk, the improved weather making it a memorable experience

As yesterday, we have coffee at the beautifully sited Cafe Lake Matheison, but this time we are able to enjoy it outdoors. We then commence the drive to Queenstown, once more following Highway 6 south.

This is a lovely drive, enhanced both by the weather - which is either completely sunny or partly cloudy for the vast majority of the day - and the scenery.

The first part of our route touches the coast a couple of times, but it is always paralleled on our left by the snowy peaks of the Southern Alps. Our first sight of the sea is at Bruce Bay, where we stop to admire the long, driftwood-strewn beach, and where we find a stone that looks as though it's an egg of one of New Zealand's strange birds

From Bruce Bay, the road turns inland and we see very little traffic in this remote region. When the road nears the coast again at Lake Moeraki, we hike our second 1½-hour walk of the day on the 2½-kilometre path to Monro Beach (above and left). This well-surfaced path through lovely, dense forest and across a swingbridge, emerges at a small beach with offshore rocks and crashing surf. Occasionally, at this time of year, here is a good place to spot the rare Fiordland Crested Penguin, but there are no sightings today

 

 

Our next stop after Monro Beach is Knights Point where we can see seals through our binoculars on the rocks way below. We then stop at Ship Creek (right) before Highway 6 veers inland over the Haast Pass (at 564-metres the lowest road crossing of the Southern Alps) to enter the Mount Aspiring National Park

In Mount Aspiring National Park, we make short walks to Thunder Creek Falls (far left) and Fantail Falls (second left) and stop to admire roadside waterfalls

As the sun is getting lower and time is beginning to press, we decide not to do the Blue Pools Walk, but press on to the small town of Wanaka, which is located at the southern end of Lake Wanaka (left). Here, our planned route on Highway 6 forks to the southeast to reach Queenstown via Cromwell - a distance of about 120-kilometres. Instead, we decide to take the Crown Range Road through the Cardrona Valley, which is only 70-kilometres. Though designated as a State Highway (SH 89), this is one of New Zealand's highest public roads, reaching an altitude of over 1,000-metres.

 

The road is well-surfaced and commences with an easy, fast section. It then becomes steep and has many twists and precipitous drops that slow us down. At the highest point (1,076-metres) there is snow in the air and it is very cold. However, this is a very scenic route, with lovely views of the valley of the Cardrona River

It is still cold when we reach Queenstown, where we rejoin Highway 6 about 20-kilometres to the east of the town, and then approach its outskirts on Highway 6a. This is where our accommodation (Spinnaker Bay Luxury Condominiums) for the next 3 nights is located. The complex consists of about twenty self-contained units, built on the side of a steep hill overlooking the Frankton Arm of the beautiful, deep-blue Lake Wakatipu.