Today's travels took us from Fran Josef to Wanaka. It was a blue sky day so our views were awesome! Our first stop was at Lake Mattheson - one of the most photographed lakes in all of New Zealand. There was a bit of a breeze creating ripples in the water so we didn't get the perfect reflection but still had great views of Mt Tasman and Mt Cook. We were once again in a lush green valley with farms and grazing animals all around us.

As we continued down Highway 6 along the west coast, our next pull off was at Knight's Point. Our views overlooked the ocean and the waves crashing against the cliffs. Liam had a good long nap in the car and slept right through this stop!

We ate our lunches in the car and Liam woke up just in time for a quick hike to Thunder Creek Falls. The 96 meter falls was spectacular and fell right into a brightly colored river. Liam insisted on walking the entire path himself (luckily it was short!) and stopped to inspect every bug and tree along the path.

At this point the terrain really started to change from the almost jungle-like feel to more trees and forest. Our last stop was at the Blue Pools. This short 45 min hike took us through forest and across two draw bridges to spectacular, clear blue pools. The color is a result of the cold glacial water and the minerals from the rock. Really impressive!

As we finished our day, we passed Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea as the terrain turned from forest to dry and desert like. The mountains are much rockier and reminded us more of Colorado mountains. We arrived in Wanaka which is a bustling little town and our house is in a regular subdivision with trees and sidewalks and everything! It's a really neat town and a beautiful house!

Dan, Jane, Keely and I went out to dinner to a sports bar where a rugby match was on every tv in the bar. Everyone had the lamb chops and I had the venison back straps. Delicious!

Everyone was amazed today how the terrain keeps changing every few hours!

Kevin