Oh my good lord, what a day! And I thought we'd already seen how spectacular scenery can get here on the South Island...

It's been an action packed day of natural wonder spotting, en route from Franz Josef to Wanaka. We started the day with a trip to see Lake Matheson. The water in the lake appears almost black because of the secretions from the vegetation, which creates a mirrored effect. On a clear day it looks awesome because you can see Mt. Tasman and Mt. Cook in the reflection. Unfortunately for us, this morning the mountains were completely obscured by mist so all you could see were the trees. It was still pretty cool though.

We piled back on the bus, driving past Lake Moeraki which had some proper mirror action going on, and then stopped to see Knights Point Lookout, our last glimpse of the Tasman Sea and the beautiful West Coast. From there we stopped off at Thunder Falls and Fantail Falls, both of which were gorgeous. By this time we were approaching Haast and the Mt. Aspiring National Park and it was here that the scenery started to get spectacular...

Our rickety bus climbed through Haast Pass, revealing ranges of snow-capped mountains, rolling green hills and pristine blue lakes. Jim and I were totally transfixed with the scenery passing by us to the extent that we were actually rendered speechless and just turning to each other open mouthed, shaking our heads. The driver eventually relented to the gorgeous weather and let us get off at Lake Hawea to look at the most amazing view I have ever seen in my life. Imagine gargantuan mountains, their peaks dusted in snow, with turquoise water beneath them and bright blue sky above. It was a real "pinch me, I must be dreaming" moment.

From there we drove into Wanaka, our stop for the night. It is absolutely beautiful! Lake Wanaka is the fourth biggest lake in the country and today it was a perfect blue, shimmering in the sunshine, framed by lush green hills on either side and more mountainous peaks in the middle. This area of the country is the most ridiculously photogenic place I have ever seen! Ironically, however, that means it is impossible to take a picture of because none will do it justice. But it's like a reflex - you forget the view is there, then look up and see it and instinctively reach for your camera, despite the fact you've already taken about 40 shots and none of them have even captured a tiny percentage of it's actual beauty.

I really like New Zealand...

Love you all x x x