While many know New Zealand as the land of the long white cloud our definition s closer to the land of the long blue lakes.

Our travels had seen us passing by and stopping at many beautiful lakes but again today not one two but three lakes took our undivided attention.

Firstly as we left Lake Hayes Estate we again witnessed from a different angle the beauty of lake Hayes.

This time instead of travelling into Arrowtown we assended the hills (mountains) and were rewarded with great lake views while again "rounding our tyres" on a series of switchbacks. Even Tom Tom at that stage was pleased as he already held a "thrill ride"preprogrammed containing this route.

At one stage I was able to see seven layers of road something not seen since I transversed Transfagarasan In Romania in 2015. The scenery however was far greater then the barren Romanian landscape.

The scenery did not desert as we headed North West towards the inland lake the 4th largest in NZ Wanaka Lake or Oanaka in Maori which has recorded a depth of 300m and covers some 192km2 of land area. Our first stop on the lake was Wanaka Beach which was well patronised by tourists in Campervans. Many were braving the cold lake eiher swimming or engaging in some form of water sport such as paddle boarding while others topped up their suntan while lounging on the rocks that are the beach. We resisted and rode into the town bearing the same name and browsed shops while seated on our two wheel steeds.

A short run of some 9kms out of town in an Eastern direction had us at Wanaka Airport and the Wanaka Wheels & Flight Museum.

It is well presented but a little disappointing in that only only five aircraft are on display but the compensation is a number of motorcycles and motorcars some of which are unique. A 1934 Duesenberg an a 1910 Metz along with a motorboat constructed from native NZ Kauri timber are examples of long lost vehicles restored and displayed but not generally seen in other museums. A period themed cafe was our lunch stop enjoying a table delivered sandwich undet the trees on the front lawn.

Wanting more lake scenes soon had us again stopped looking up and down Lake Hawea. While only covering some 141km2 it has been found to have a bottom of 392m and its name reflects that of a Maori tribe who existed in that area a long time previously.

The roads were well surfaced but when entering the rainforest areas closer to Haast one had to respect the fact that sun shine rarely reaches the road surface.

Haast arrived too quickly but was a welcome stop and a local dinner at the Hotel finished yet another day of New Zealand living up to a preconceived notion of great scenery connected by great motorcycle rides.