We took off from Franz Josef fairly early this morning. We drove through the Southern Alps on all kinds of switchbacks. The mountains are in the clouds this morning with only bits of blue showing. It is a little cool, but not too bad. We know we have FL blood so it is probably in the 60s. :-).
Just a peek of blue sky between the mountains here in the Southern Alps.
We stopped off on a path to Thunder Creek Falls which comes down off the mountainside. The foliage going through the walkway was very dense.
Thunder Creek Falls. This is in the Haast Pass through the mountains.
Next we stopped off for lunch at Makarora a small town of 12 population.
Across the road was a herd of deer. The deer are raised over here so have no reason to jump the fences. The venison is shipped to lots of other countries. Walt is trying to take a photo of the herd in the far right corner.
We drove along side Lake Wanaka which is 50 miles long and 1,000 feet deep. Lake Hawea is another of these large deep lakes from glaciers.
Lake Hawea.
Lake Wanaka.
This whole area is also the area where the land is leased from the government and here a special breed of sheep called merino are raised. This very fine wool is used in Merino sweaters and such. The thread is very fine and therefore not itchy on your skin. Some suits are also designed with this nice soft and wicking wool. It keeps you warm in winter and cool in summer. They have had an overload of possum and are now raising them to blend with the merino wool and have a new blend of sweater that feels almost like silk. I believe the new product is called Merino Mink. Queenstown is the town to look for these products. Icebreaker is the New Zealand brand that is sold here and shipped elsewhere.
Next we stopped off at the Gibbston Valley Winery near Queenstown, New Zealand.
As you can see Walt is enjoying a sample. :-)
We the ate dinner up at the Skyline Restaurant with a beautiful overlook of the town of Queenstown. We also saw a Maori presentation there.
This is the cable car taking us up to the mountainside.
This is the beautiful view from up above of the town of Queenstown and the surrounding lake.
We had a very nice day but it definitely cooled down by the time evening rolled around.
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