Wanaka, New Zealand Area
Date: March 20, 2019 – March 26, 2019
Location: Lake Hawea, New Zealand
March 20, 2019
We left Pukekura and drove south. The sky was clear in Fox Glacier, which we had hiked when it was cloudy, so we stopped at the Lake Matheson Walking Track to see the view.
Roaring Billy Falls
We continued to drive the Haast Highway and stopped at the Roaring Billy Falls Walk.
After a short walk through the woods we came to the edge of the Haast River.
We walked across the smooth stones to see Roaring Billy Falls closer. Roaring Billy Falls is 30 meters high, around 98 feet.
Thunder Creek Falls
The Haast Highway from Haast to Lake Hawea has many short walks to waterfalls and scenic lookouts. We next stopped at Thunder Creek Falls. Thunder Creek Falls is 96 meters high, about 315 feet, and goes into the Haast River.
Fantail Falls
Our next stop was at Fantail Falls. The short trails went to the Haast River, where there were many small stacks of rocks.
On the other side of the Haast River is Fantail Falls. Fantail Falls is 23 meters high, about 75 feet. Brian tested out the water in the Haast River and it was very cold.
Blue Pools
We went to see the Blue Pools. The walk was longer than the other ones we did that day.
The trail goes to a swing bridge that overlooks the pools. There were many people swimming, and some people were jumping off the bridge.
This is the view in the other direction from the swing bridge.
Our last stop before going to our Airbnb in Lake Hawea was at the Lake Wanaka Lookout.
March 21, 2019
We did the Roy’s Peak Track. The trail starts at the level of Lake Wanaka and goes up 1,500 meters, around 4,921 feet.
The trail is all on the grassy hillside so there is constantly a great view as you ascend.
The trail goes through farm land so we saw some sheep along the trail.
There is a viewpoint 1.5 km from the top that has great views.
This is the view from the top.
It was Brian’s favorite hike.
March 22, 2019
We visited the Wanaka Lavender Farm for some lavender ice cream.
After that we went to Maude Wines and did a tasting.
This was the view we had tasting the wines.
March 23, 2019
We did the Rob Roy Track. The trail started on farm land and there were several cows on the path.
The trail has a swing bridge across the West Matukituki River.
This is the view from the swing bridge.
Shortly after the swing bridge there was another view over the valley with Rob Roy Glacier in the distance.
The trail goes under a huge rock.
This is a lower lookout point for Rob Roy Glacier.
These are the views from the end of the Rob Roy Track.
The hike was nice and we recommend doing it.
March 24, 2019
On March 24, 2019, we went down to Queenstown for the afternoon. In Queenstown we went to the The Winery.
It was similar to the Wined Bar we visited in Adelaide, Australia. The Winery had over 80 wines that you can taste, with the majority of them being made in New Zealand. There were also eight whiskies available for tasting. Unlike Wined Bar, there were no mystery wines to taste, but I got Brian a sample and then had him guess what the wine was.
After tasting wine at The Winery we walked around the streets and went to the edge of Lake Wakatipu.
Near the edge of Lake Wakatipu is a statue of William Gilbert Rees, who was the founder of Queenstown in 1860.
March 25, 2019
We visited the Paradiso movie theater in Wanaka. The theater is small with 3 screens and they have some couches you can sit on to watch the movie. The movies have an intermission when warm, freshly baked cookies are available to buy. We watched the movie On The Basis of Sex.
