Dear all
The clouds were still milling around as we started our journey to the West Coast. We drove past another of the stunningly beautiful pale blue glacier lakes on our right - Lake Hawea and then on passing through the neck switched lakes with Lake Wanaka on our left. We stopped for lunch just by the side of the Lake which was still a really ethereal blue despite the gloomy skies. As short 30 minute walk, full of those pesky little sand flies to the Blue Pools to walk off lunch & we then passed up the track gaining height until we had clouds all around us and entered the Haast Pass. Can't tell you much about it as it was so misty, but the rain became a slight drizzle as we started our decent so we stopped at a few little DOC sites which had short walks through (sandfly infested) Silver Beech forests with some very grand waterfalls, with equally impressie names - Fantail, Thunder Creek and Roaring Billy. 
Heading into Hasst I noticed that a short way further south was a tiny little fishing hamlet called Jackson Bay wher you could get some great views of the Southern Alps and they had some resident Fiordland crested Penguin colonies. As it was not to late Dean was persuaded to take a little side adventure and off we went down one of the straightest roads we have ever driven down. Migrants arrived here under a doomed assisted-immigration scheme. their farming dreams washed away by the never ending rain and a lack of a wharf, which was built in 1938. Today it is more of a small fishing hamlet with half a dozen fishing boats bobbing in the bay. There is also a very cute looking called the Clay pot which also acts as the local info centre!
Today the run of lovely hot weather finally broke and we awoke to stormy skies. We struck camp and headed down the road to Puzzle World - Deans request! There is an excellent 3D maze which is supposed to take well over an hour to solve. However we did it in 15 minutes, but then took another 35 minutes trying to get out LOL serves us right for being so cocky! There were also loads of optical illusions that kept us busy for the rest of the morning. check this one out!
The clouds were still milling around as we started our journey to the West Coast. We drove past another of the stunningly beautiful pale blue glacier lakes on our right - Lake Hawea and then on passing through the neck switched lakes with Lake Wanaka on our left. We stopped for lunch just by the side of the Lake which was still a really ethereal blue despite the gloomy skies. As short 30 minute walk, full of those pesky little sand flies to the Blue Pools to walk off lunch & we then passed up the track gaining height until we had clouds all around us and entered the Haast Pass. Can't tell you much about it as it was so misty, but the rain became a slight drizzle as we started our decent so we stopped at a few little DOC sites which had short walks through (sandfly infested) Silver Beech forests with some very grand waterfalls, with equally impressie names - Fantail, Thunder Creek and Roaring Billy. 
Heading into Hasst I noticed that a short way further south was a tiny little fishing hamlet called Jackson Bay wher you could get some great views of the Southern Alps and they had some resident Fiordland crested Penguin colonies. As it was not to late Dean was persuaded to take a little side adventure and off we went down one of the straightest roads we have ever driven down. Migrants arrived here under a doomed assisted-immigration scheme. their farming dreams washed away by the never ending rain and a lack of a wharf, which was built in 1938. Today it is more of a small fishing hamlet with half a dozen fishing boats bobbing in the bay. There is also a very cute looking called the Clay pot which also acts as the local info centre!Despite our best efforts we din't see any penguins, but did manage o see a rather large pod of Hectors Dolphins feeding right by the beach and picked up even more sandfly bites! And guess what it was raining there!
Night all
Sara
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