Over the river and thru the woods..

...to cross the alps we go.Last night we stayed in a little campsite near a pretty little lake with tons of biting little sandflies and mossies (mosquitos). They are a fact of life in certain parts of NZ. The route up the pass was very nice with some great little walks to see various waterfalls and strikingly blue pools, dispite an on-&-off drizzle. On the other side of the pass the land is dryer, more alpine looking. We had lunch at Lake Wanaka which is very big and VERY windy. It didn't stop some crazy guys from swimming though, Burrr. The good thing about the wind is it is moving the weather around quickly. No rain on this side. We passed by another big lake with beautiful high mountains than down to the town of Wanaka. Unfortunetly we missed out on the local microbrewery, just closed. But a trip into the local I-site (the really good information site system) and we were able to book a trip to Milford Sound tomorrow. Our new friend Gill (Anita's dear friend) suggested that we stop at the Cadrona Hotel & Bar for dinner. Though the outside of the place looks totally ancient and ready to drop, the remainder has all been redone and it is a totally cool place. We had a great dinner, venison pot pie and steak and a guiness, in the backyard/courtyard. So nice. Then a trip over the highest pass in NZ before we dropped down (almost literally) into the valley were Queenstown is. We met up with Gill who is so charming, and after a lovely cup of coffee and a quick shower hit the sack.