The 'Famous' Tree

We left Franz Josepf this morning in the rain, and headed South, into torrential rain. At times it rained so heavy that we could not see the road, so had to pull over and wait for the rain to ease.

We stopped at Haast for an hour while we had lunch, and then proceeded over the Haast Past. Although it was teaming with rain, we enjoyed the beautiful waterfalls falling down the mountains. In some places these waterfalls were like rivers, with amazing amounts of water flowing down the mountains.

We stopped at Fantail Falls, put on our coats, upped our umbrellas and went for a bush walk to the falls. It was beautiful, although very cold at 8 degrees C.

Over the other side of the Haast Pass the rain stopped, and the sun came out. We could then see the fresh snow on the mountains. No wonder it was so cold!

We arrived in Wanaka and went in search of that world wide famous tree. We got out of the car and just about got blown away by a howling southerly wind. It was freezing! So we found the tree by asking what direction it was (and everyone seems to know about the tree), took a few photos and then returned back to the warmth of the car. The autumn colours, along with the fresh snow topped mountains created a beautiful postcard picture.

After stopping at the Cardronna Hotel to take a few photos, we headed to Queenstown over the Crown Range. Over the range we headed into Arrowtown. The autumn colours were beautiful.

We arrived in Queenstown, and went for a walk around the waterfront. The Earnslaw boat was just coming in to berth, so we stood and watched it arrive.

There is a heavy snowfall warning issued for the Otago/Southland area overnight. It will be magical to see if it does snow, with plenty of photographic opportunities available to keep me occupied tomorrow.