Hello everybody,
I'm back online again. Two nights in a row I was cut off from the outside world. Today I traveled some 260 kilometers traveling from Haast to Queenstown. It was a very scenic drive all of the way, full of mountains, lakes, waterfalls, gorges and rivers. I traveled through Mount Aspiring National Park for a lot of the morning. My first stop was at Thunder Falls in the picture below.
Next I came to the Gates of Haast. The precipitous gorge is crossed by a narrow one-lane bridge.
At the Gates of Haast gorge, many travellers stop to photograph the wild water as it crashes over the river boulders.
Fantail Falls is a beautiful waterfall which drops 75 feet into the crystal clear Haast River.
It is a very scenic drive on Highway 6 through the Mount Aspiring National Park.
Mount Aspiring National Park is a wonderful mixture of remote wilderness, high mountains and beautiful river valleys.
Of course I has to stop and photograph the wildflowers.
Mount Aspiring National Park covers 1,373 square miles at the southern end of the Southern Alps. Mount Aspiring, elevation 9,951 feet, is the mountain that gives the park its name. Other prominent peaks within the park include Mount Pollux, elevation 8,340 feet, and Mount Brewster, elevation 8,264 feet. Several sheep can be seen in the picture below.
After leaving Mount Aspiring National Park the road continued past beautiful Lake Wanaka. I stopped at Boundary Creek along Lake Wanaka.
Lake Wanaka lies at the heart of the Otago Lakes and is New Zealand's fourth largest lake.
The Kawarau Gorge is a major river gorge in Central Otago. The Kawarau River flows through the gorge, which is located between the towns of Queenstown and Cromwell. State Highway 6 follows the gorge.
The gorge begins about 20 miles from Queenstown and continues for some 15 miles. It is of major historic significance as the Kawarau was the site of much activity during the Otago Gold Rush of the 1860s.
The Roaring Meg hydro scheme and Goldfields Mining Centre are in the gorge.
Below the Kawarau River flows through the Kawarau Gorge, immediately downstream from Roaring Meg tributary.
Next I reached Queenstown, my home for the next five nights. Queenstown is a nice little town although quite busy. Impossible to find a place to park. My first order of business was a ride on the scenic gondola.
The best views in the region unfolded before my eyes as the gondola carried me 1,500 feet above Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu to the top of Bob's Peak.
From the top there is a 220 degree panorama, with breath taking views of Lake Wakatipu, Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, Walter Peak, Cecil Peak and over Queenstown.
Below you can see where they do bungee jumping.
Below is my hotel room.
I have a spectacular view of Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkable Mountains from my hotel room. Below you can see the TSS Earnslaw making its way across the lake.
The only thing that I did today besides get here is the Skyline Gondola. Until tomorrow,
Tim
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