Moving on from Franz Josef

Monday morning 4th March and we are heading out of Franz Josef, continuing South to the town of Wanaka. This will take us back over the mountains through Fox. It is the third time that I will have done this journey over the weekend. Even though this was my third trek across these mountains they were no less awesome a site. Surprisingly there wasn't one single person hitching a lift on this stretch. About a quarter of a mile after leaving Fox we came across three young hitchers, a couple from America and a single lad from Holland. As we could only comfortably fit one in the back for the 4 hour journey ahead the couple insisted on us taking Levi to Wanaka. Levi was an 18 year old student from a town near the Hague whose mother was Dutch and father was Israeli. He was away from home for the first time, but had settled into the backpackers world and was enjoying his travels. His English was very good & he could also converse in French,German & Hebrew. His ambition was to become an airline pilot. Just past the half way point of the journey we stopped at the community of Haast for the "bathroom" & a cuppa. The weather is still being kind to us. It is the driest Summer on record for over 20 years. Long may it last. At about 2-15 we pulled up at the I sight (tourist information centre) in Wanaka and parted company with Levi, who was off to the backpackers hostel where he would hopefully be reunited with his American friends later today. Our arrival at the Aspiring Lodge Motel we were hit with a wow factor when we opened the door to our room. The motel is a wooden structure built in an alpine style. A nice place to be spending the next 2 nights. Pictures below are from our travels today. Top two pics taken by the river at Haast Pass. Next two taken by the shores of Lake Hawea just a few Kilometres before arriving at Wanaka. The last four are of our room here. Apart from the pics on my camera, for the first time this trip I am up to date with my blog. With a bit of luck those pics will follow this blog if our friend Levi's instructions have been interpreted correctly.