Day 10 - Touring down the West Coast and inland to Wanaka

Well we have finally resigned to the opinion that we are seeing New Zealand's west coast in its natural state. The rainforests here are created by just that - RAIN - and lots of it! It rained all night and well into the morning. All helicopter flights had to be cancelled. We reluctantly pushed on southward. We made a scenic stop at Fox Glacier, just a 20 minute drive down the road. I have seen some wonderful images made here around Lake Matheson, but we did not have the luck of sunshine traveling with us. Further down the road we enjoyed some awesome scenery at Bruce Bay and Knight's Point before heading inland, where we shook the clouds and rain. Before reaching Haast Pass there are two beautiful waterfalls, Thunder Creek Falls and Fantail Falls.  We stopped for photo shoots at both of the falls. And this is also where we got our first experience with the New Zealand Sandfly. Nasty little buggers! I got considerably 'chewed' up on my hands and arms while photographing these two spots. They also got into our car which spoiled an otherwise delightful 'cat nap' during a mid-day stop in the sunshine.

The afternoon drive along the Young Range mountains and into Wanaka was very pleasant. We arrived at the Wanaka Stonehouse B&B just in time for tea. We walked the lakeshore and skipped stones before an early dinner at Ripples.