We traveled from Queenstown to Lake Hāwea.

Here’s an interactive map of our route, with some of the stops marked:

Shockingly, another scenic drive in NZ:

We explored the Cromwell Heritage Precinct, which saved some historic buildings when the main street of Cromwell was submerged due to the construction of the Clyde dam:

Coffee and a slice at the Seed & Grain Store:

More exhibits:

Clutha River:

Cromwell stone fruit sculpture and sign:

45th Southern Parallel marker, halfway between the equator and the south pole:

Vines:

Interesting rocks:

We were going to stop at Wanaka Lavender Farm, but there wasn’t convenient parking, and most of the lavender wasn’t in bloom, so we skipped it:

Puzzling World is a cheesy tourist trap; we never intended to stop there, and didn’t:

We did stop at the Mount Aspiring National Park Visitor Centre, more our speed:

Of course, we had to take some pictures of That Wanaka Tree (along with several other people):

We had lunch at Scroggin in Wanaka:

A one lane bridge with a traffic light:

Arriving at our campground for the night, The Camp:

It was laundry time again, so we tried the laundry facilities at the campground, but most of the machines were out of order:

The showers were very basic too:

A cabin with a view:

Lake Hāwea:

Outdoor fireplace:

Dome:

Our site:

Since the campground laundry was unusable, we went back to Wanaka to do laundry at a laundromat. Which was a useful experience; we found that taking our laundry to a laundromat was easier than using a campground laundry, since we didn’t need to fuss with coins or small unreliable machines.

After laundry, we had dinner at Hello Ranger:

Then back to our site for the night:

We traveled from Milford Sound to Queenstown.

Here’s an interactive map of our route, with some of the stops marked; a big loop, because there isn’t a more direct route:

A rainy morning lead to hundreds of waterfalls:

Waiting to go back through Homer Tunnel:

Hollyford River:

Morning snack at Alpine Centre Cafe in Te Anau:

Sheep:

Lunch at Route 6 Cafe in Lumsden:

Lake Wakatipu:

Arriving at Driftaway Queenstown, where we spent three nights (the longest stay of this trip):

Our waterfront site:

Power and water:

Other sites:

Jump pad:

Shower:

Laundry:

View out our front window:

After disembarking from the Doubtful Sound cruise, we traveled just half an hour north from Manapouri to Te Anau.

Here’s an interactive map of our route, with our stops marked:

Whitetail deer:

Te Anau Welcomes You:

We stopped at Sandfly Cafe in Te Anau for lunch:

Fiordland National Park visitor centre:

We stayed the night at Te Anau’s Tasman Holiday Park:

Map:

Our site:

Time to do some laundry:

Cabins:

Other sites:

Jump pad:

We walked a few blocks to downtown; here’s a takahē sculpture:

We had dinner at Ristorante Pizzeria Paradiso:

An interesting take on a Hawaiian pizza:

We traveled from Invercargill to Manapouri, where we did an overnight cruise in Doubtful Sound of Fiordland National Park. I’ll do a separate post for that; this is just getting there.

Here’s an interactive map of our route:

Unripe marshmallows:

Countryside:

Farm equipment:

Brunel Peaks Cafe for coffee and slices:

Mountains:

One way bridge:

Waiau River:

Another one way bridge:

A little sketchy:

Interesting rocks:

Parked for our overnight cruise:

Stay tuned for the super-scenic cruise tomorrow….