South Island Tuesday 14.4.15 Wanaka to Franz Joseph

Another very cold but fine morning. 2 degrees. The sun was highlighting the Aspiring Range and Wanaka was looking its best. Away before 9 am this morning for the long drive ahead. Perfect weather for it. Lake Hawea was looking magnificent with high well bushed steep sides diving into the blue water. Autumn leaves abounded.
Surely a highlight of our trip so far was the journey across Haast Pass. A truly beautiful drive. Wonderful beech forests, waterfalls, rushing cataracts, water so clear it was almost invisible  and stones in the stream beds of such interesting colours and smooth shapes . It was very cold (3deg) and in the higher areas snow still graced the branches of the trees. Very pretty. Did several short walks into the the forests and down to fantail falls etc. also visited Thunder Falls. Had a picnic lunch of cheese and biscuits, a banana and a ginger nut and a takeaway cup of tea in tiny Haast township.
The great scenery continued as we travelled up the coast, stopping at Knights Lookout and Lake Paringa, ocean views and especially the Unmodified bush.
Drove up to Fox Glacier but the glacier has now retreated so far it is a considerable walk to the view point and you still can't see much so gave it a miss as getting late. On to Franz Joseph and found our "cottage" for the night. Modest but Ok. A rest after a long day's drive then dinner at Aluce May's Restaurant.

A walk in the beech forest with snow on the branches

Fantail Falls Haast Oass

Water so clear you can barely see it