We left the Rainforest Retreat at 7.30 this morning to begin the long journey down to Wanaka. On the way, we made an early stop off at Lake Matheson near Fox's Glacier. The lake is famous for giving amazing reflections of the mountains in the distance, including Mount Tasman and Mount Cook (New Zealand's highest peak). The lake gives such a clear reflection because it is so dark from tannin staining. We had a great one hour walk around the lake, although some passengers feeling worse for wear didn't much appreciate it!
We stopped at a couple more scenic spots on the way, including a great viewing point of Fox Glacier (very similar to Franz Josef) and Ship Creek, where there is a beautiful beach and we spotted some Hector's Dolphins playing in the waves - the world's smallest dolphin, of which there are very few remaining. The views in general on the journey were incredible as we're now really heading towards the mountains and there are so many beautiful lakes and rivers nestled between rocky ridges and snow capped peaks.
On arriving at Lake Wanaka, the scenery was breathtaking. The lake is a magnificent blue and covers a massive 180 square kilometres, making it the 4th largest in New Zealand. Lake Hawea nearby is also beautiful, covering 140 square kilometres. The town itself nestles on the shore of Lake Wanaka and is the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park.
We arrived at Base Hostel around 3.30pm and I'm so glad I'll be staying an extra night here - the rest of the group are moving on at 9am, so they will barely have the chance to explore. I wandered down to the lake with a group of friends and managed to persuade one of them to walk up Mount Iron with me. It's pretty small at 240 metres, but still leads to wonderful views of the region and Lake Wanaka. It's 31 degrees here, so it was a hot walk nonetheless.
I made the most of my last evening with this group of friends, having a picnic by the lake and tea and chocolate before bed... my kind of people!