May 13, 2007
Josh and I left the villas around 10 in the morning. Justin, the host, did not ask how our stay was. I was prepared to tell him that the villas by the road do have a lot of traffic noise but since he didn’t ask, I didn’t volunteer the information. As we drove out of the villas area, I had Josh drive around to the back of the property to see which villas had the best view of the mountain. Those villas were numbers 5 and 6.
The weather today was still nice and sunny. However, it wasn’t as clear as it was yesterday so we lucked out weather-wise with our heli-hike. Still, people scheduled to go up there today would have had some sun.
We were scheduled to have a big driving day today…about 5 hours without stops to Wanaka. We stopped not too far along into our drive, however, at Lake Matheson. Lake Matheson is supposed to be a really cool reflective lake that reflects the snow capped mountain peaks in the distance. Apparently, when Jess and Ike visited, it was foggy so they didn’t see anything…I wasn’t very optimistic either as it was kinda cloudy.
We decided to do the walk around the lake which was an hour and a half loop walk. We reached the viewing platform and we could see some of the mountain reflected but it was still somewhat cloudy and there were more clouds in the sky. We kept walking through the forest around the loop. Eventually, it became sunny where we were at in the forest, however, it wasn’t clear over the mountains. Some of the pictures showed a better reflection of the mountain than how the mountain really looked to our eyes. 
We had a good walk and decided to go check out Fox Glacier. According to Josh and our map, there was a 10 minute walk to the glacier. We made it to the car park and started walking. Pretty far along, I said to Josh, I thought this was only supposed to be a 10 minute walk. He said the 10 minute walk ended way back there at a viewing spot of the glacier but now we were far enough along that we could go look at the glacier up close.
We crossed some streams in order to reach the base of the glacier. It was absolutely incredible. Because it was a cloudy day, I think it helped us see the blue ice on the glacier. Sometimes when if it is so sunny and bright all you see is white rather than the blue. However, the closer we got to the glacier, the colder it became. We stayed for awhile looking at the view but soon it was time to head back to the car. We were cold and we had a long drive ahead of us.
When we reached the car, we noticed several people having picnics in their vehicles in the car park. It was lunch time for Josh and me too but we drove towards the exit of the park where there was a sign for a suspension bridge and picnic area. While we didn't eat outside, we did walk out onto the bridge which had a maximum capacity of 5 people. The view from the bridge was really cool and the water was quickly flowing underneath us.
I made us ham and cheese sandwiches to eat in the car as we drove along. We also had some tortiilla chips to compliment our meal. The further south we drove, the sunnier it became. The most amazing and surprising thing of the drive was Bruce Bay....the OCEAN. It was so sunny and the water was so blue. I was in love! I could have stayed at this site forever. But, again, we had the long road ahead through the Haast Pass.
I had read about the Haast Pass briefly before our trip. I'd read that it was spectacular, however, in my mind I'd pictured it as deserty and barren like the Canterbury Plains area. It wasn't like that at all. There were so many spots to pull off the road because everything in this area is picture worthy.
The Haast Pass consists of so many stunning mountain views. I had to have Josh pull over because I couldn't do the pictures of the mountains justice while snapping them out the car window whilst driving 70 kmh. We could never figure out which mountain was Mount Aspiring but it didn't matter because, in truth, all the snow capped peaks were awesome. Some natural sites were closed, perhaps due to repairs to the walkways. However, Thundering Falls was open and it was only a five minute walk off the main road and really worth a visit.
Because it was getting dark and we still had a ways to drive, Josh and I ran the 5 minute track through the woods to the waterfall. We were the only one's there. It was a bit chilly but absolutely worth it for the view. We said people who drove past this spot without stopping didn't know what they were missing. The water below the falls is very clear blue and fast moving.
After that waterfall (and more mountain views) Josh saw an unmarked waterfall that was just massive coming down the mountain on the side of the road before flowing underneath the road to the other side. Josh, not always the cautious one, pulled off the side of the road and ran back to the waterfall although there was only a sliver of space for a pedestrian to stand off the highway from incoming traffic. I went with Josh (praying for safety) and fortunately no cars drove past us in either lane while we were viewing the unmarked waterfalls.
After running uphill to safely make it back to the car, we continued our journey. The mountain views continued and led to one of the most picture postcard pefect photo opportunities we've ever had whilst traveling. We saw a clear shot of Mount Cook rising out of the valley during sunset. I'm sorry, it just doesn't get any better than this...well, maybe if the black bugs weren't biting. However, that's a small price to pay for such a magnificent view.
The mountain vistas continued as the Southern Alps truly made their prescence known. Sunset over these mountains and lakes is just indescribable and one of those things that one must experience in order to truly appreciate. 
When we reached Wanaka, things went downhill. We ended up getting turned around in the town and I was hungry so that led to crankiness. Josh bought gas and asked for directions to the hotel then we were on our way. However, even when we did reach the “hotel” it was easy to see why anyone would have difficulty finding it. There are no lights on the Wanaka Edge Suites sign so it’s impossible to spot in the dark. I realized that the lack of lighting may be because it’s more a holiday home/apartment building rather than a hotel.
We arrived at 6 pm and were checked in quickly. I asked if we could have a room upstairs but the guy said there weren’t any. He said we had a nice room with a courtyard that was a 2 bedroom unit…but he told us not to use the second bedroom or we’d be charged the 2 bedroom rate instead of the one bedroom rate we paid for. Man, just by saying that, the second bedroom became more tempting.
We carried all our gear upstairs even though we were only staying for one night. This apartment included a washer and dryer so we brought in all of our stuff in so we could wash clothes. The apartment was really nice and modern. Josh was happy because they offered a movie channel. We were ready to start dinner but we didn’t have a few items so Josh ran to the grocery store while I started the laundry.
We had grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken soup for dinner. It was a really good meal. Then, we decided to take advantage of the Spa before it closed. We put on our bathing suits and walked down the exterior corridor to the Spa room. We tried our key but could not open the door. I told Josh to go check at Reception if we needed a different key. We went together, ringing the “Urgent” call button because it was now after Reception hours (not too late, only around 7:30 or so).
A woman answered the call. Josh asked about using the spa and she said that you have to book the spa and asked if Josh wanted to book it. Josh said yeah and she asked when. Josh said now! That was so FUNNY!!! Then, a guy came out to unlock the spa room for us.
We got the Jacuzzi situated, however, I could not thoroughly enjoy it because I kept thinking about how Aimee’s brother-in-law got some sort of airborne disease by using a hotel hot tub. Josh and I hung out for awhile but then it was time for Josh’s movie to start so we headed back in.
We made some popcorn and watched a movie on tv called Inside Man. It was okay as it started, however, it ended pretty weak. Then, once the laundry had finished, I was off to bed and Josh followed later.
Josh and I left the villas around 10 in the morning. Justin, the host, did not ask how our stay was. I was prepared to tell him that the villas by the road do have a lot of traffic noise but since he didn’t ask, I didn’t volunteer the information. As we drove out of the villas area, I had Josh drive around to the back of the property to see which villas had the best view of the mountain. Those villas were numbers 5 and 6.
The weather today was still nice and sunny. However, it wasn’t as clear as it was yesterday so we lucked out weather-wise with our heli-hike. Still, people scheduled to go up there today would have had some sun.
We were scheduled to have a big driving day today…about 5 hours without stops to Wanaka. We stopped not too far along into our drive, however, at Lake Matheson. Lake Matheson is supposed to be a really cool reflective lake that reflects the snow capped mountain peaks in the distance. Apparently, when Jess and Ike visited, it was foggy so they didn’t see anything…I wasn’t very optimistic either as it was kinda cloudy.
We decided to do the walk around the lake which was an hour and a half loop walk. We reached the viewing platform and we could see some of the mountain reflected but it was still somewhat cloudy and there were more clouds in the sky. We kept walking through the forest around the loop. Eventually, it became sunny where we were at in the forest, however, it wasn’t clear over the mountains. Some of the pictures showed a better reflection of the mountain than how the mountain really looked to our eyes. 
We had a good walk and decided to go check out Fox Glacier. According to Josh and our map, there was a 10 minute walk to the glacier. We made it to the car park and started walking. Pretty far along, I said to Josh, I thought this was only supposed to be a 10 minute walk. He said the 10 minute walk ended way back there at a viewing spot of the glacier but now we were far enough along that we could go look at the glacier up close.
We crossed some streams in order to reach the base of the glacier. It was absolutely incredible. Because it was a cloudy day, I think it helped us see the blue ice on the glacier. Sometimes when if it is so sunny and bright all you see is white rather than the blue. However, the closer we got to the glacier, the colder it became. We stayed for awhile looking at the view but soon it was time to head back to the car. We were cold and we had a long drive ahead of us.When we reached the car, we noticed several people having picnics in their vehicles in the car park. It was lunch time for Josh and me too but we drove towards the exit of the park where there was a sign for a suspension bridge and picnic area. While we didn't eat outside, we did walk out onto the bridge which had a maximum capacity of 5 people. The view from the bridge was really cool and the water was quickly flowing underneath us.
I made us ham and cheese sandwiches to eat in the car as we drove along. We also had some tortiilla chips to compliment our meal. The further south we drove, the sunnier it became. The most amazing and surprising thing of the drive was Bruce Bay....the OCEAN. It was so sunny and the water was so blue. I was in love! I could have stayed at this site forever. But, again, we had the long road ahead through the Haast Pass.
I had read about the Haast Pass briefly before our trip. I'd read that it was spectacular, however, in my mind I'd pictured it as deserty and barren like the Canterbury Plains area. It wasn't like that at all. There were so many spots to pull off the road because everything in this area is picture worthy.
The Haast Pass consists of so many stunning mountain views. I had to have Josh pull over because I couldn't do the pictures of the mountains justice while snapping them out the car window whilst driving 70 kmh. We could never figure out which mountain was Mount Aspiring but it didn't matter because, in truth, all the snow capped peaks were awesome. Some natural sites were closed, perhaps due to repairs to the walkways. However, Thundering Falls was open and it was only a five minute walk off the main road and really worth a visit.Because it was getting dark and we still had a ways to drive, Josh and I ran the 5 minute track through the woods to the waterfall. We were the only one's there. It was a bit chilly but absolutely worth it for the view. We said people who drove past this spot without stopping didn't know what they were missing. The water below the falls is very clear blue and fast moving.
After that waterfall (and more mountain views) Josh saw an unmarked waterfall that was just massive coming down the mountain on the side of the road before flowing underneath the road to the other side. Josh, not always the cautious one, pulled off the side of the road and ran back to the waterfall although there was only a sliver of space for a pedestrian to stand off the highway from incoming traffic. I went with Josh (praying for safety) and fortunately no cars drove past us in either lane while we were viewing the unmarked waterfalls.
After running uphill to safely make it back to the car, we continued our journey. The mountain views continued and led to one of the most picture postcard pefect photo opportunities we've ever had whilst traveling. We saw a clear shot of Mount Cook rising out of the valley during sunset. I'm sorry, it just doesn't get any better than this...well, maybe if the black bugs weren't biting. However, that's a small price to pay for such a magnificent view.
The mountain vistas continued as the Southern Alps truly made their prescence known. Sunset over these mountains and lakes is just indescribable and one of those things that one must experience in order to truly appreciate. 
When we reached Wanaka, things went downhill. We ended up getting turned around in the town and I was hungry so that led to crankiness. Josh bought gas and asked for directions to the hotel then we were on our way. However, even when we did reach the “hotel” it was easy to see why anyone would have difficulty finding it. There are no lights on the Wanaka Edge Suites sign so it’s impossible to spot in the dark. I realized that the lack of lighting may be because it’s more a holiday home/apartment building rather than a hotel.
We arrived at 6 pm and were checked in quickly. I asked if we could have a room upstairs but the guy said there weren’t any. He said we had a nice room with a courtyard that was a 2 bedroom unit…but he told us not to use the second bedroom or we’d be charged the 2 bedroom rate instead of the one bedroom rate we paid for. Man, just by saying that, the second bedroom became more tempting.
We carried all our gear upstairs even though we were only staying for one night. This apartment included a washer and dryer so we brought in all of our stuff in so we could wash clothes. The apartment was really nice and modern. Josh was happy because they offered a movie channel. We were ready to start dinner but we didn’t have a few items so Josh ran to the grocery store while I started the laundry.
We had grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken soup for dinner. It was a really good meal. Then, we decided to take advantage of the Spa before it closed. We put on our bathing suits and walked down the exterior corridor to the Spa room. We tried our key but could not open the door. I told Josh to go check at Reception if we needed a different key. We went together, ringing the “Urgent” call button because it was now after Reception hours (not too late, only around 7:30 or so).A woman answered the call. Josh asked about using the spa and she said that you have to book the spa and asked if Josh wanted to book it. Josh said yeah and she asked when. Josh said now! That was so FUNNY!!! Then, a guy came out to unlock the spa room for us.
We got the Jacuzzi situated, however, I could not thoroughly enjoy it because I kept thinking about how Aimee’s brother-in-law got some sort of airborne disease by using a hotel hot tub. Josh and I hung out for awhile but then it was time for Josh’s movie to start so we headed back in.
We made some popcorn and watched a movie on tv called Inside Man. It was okay as it started, however, it ended pretty weak. Then, once the laundry had finished, I was off to bed and Josh followed later.
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