Today, after waking to yet another blue sky day, we said farewell to Aoraki/Mount Cook/Glentanner and headed south west towards Wanaka, deep into the Southern Alps.
As we drove along the west shore of Lake Pukaki we were quickly reminded of how aquamarine the water was, how deep blue the sky was and why NZ is also known as the “Land of the Long White Cloud”
Apparently, it was given this name by the original settlers from the Pacific Islands who, when sailing here, recognized these cloud formations as a sign of land ahead; how informed was that 👏🏾
We both agree that an unexpected feature of travelling through NZ is the massive skies which add to its sense of punching above its weight in many ways (particularly at rugby 🏉😉).
Our first brief stop was at one of the leading Lavender Farms that sits in the MacKenzie Basin; clearly this was a large, successful enterprise…
Next stop for a few bits ‘n bobs was the friendly town of Twizel (Tw-eye-zel) where, judging by the architecture and public amenities, is very used to hot summers…
Prior to being here we had no idea that the Kiwis really enjoy their baking, particularly Cheese Scones and Pies of any description, sweet or savoury👨🏾🍳
Therefore, it’s become our ambition, should we just happen to “stumble upon” to sample said delicacies 😉..it seems only fair; today was no different..
One of our already mentioned observations about NZ is that there seems to be no hurry to move on from the trappings of Christmas yet, here we are, 5 days after 12th Night too, and they’re still everywhere 🤔…but each to their own…
The scenery en route to our final stop was constantly changing with many vineyards and fruit farms set in a parched land where there’s been no significant rainfall for 2 or 3 months; as a result there are total fire bans everywhere and frequent road signs indicating the fire risk is on maximum red.🔥
As for the mountains, think a mixture of “The Rolling Hills o’ the Borders” and the Cuillin Ridge – but both on steroids!
Our final stop was at the viewpoint at the top of the twisting Lindis Pass..
BTDU 