Friday
We left Fox Glacier this morning and made the long drive to Wanaka. We stopped at Haast believing, for some silly reason, that there would be a town and some shops there but there was neither. The drive was good and very pleasant.
It has struck me that the whole of the New Zealand travel industry appears to revolve around the motor home, there are literally thousands of them criss crossing the country taking their passengers from one sight to another, many of them young, several of them silver surfers like us. They must be people who like the idea of living in a home on wheels for a short amount of time and who appreciate the freedom it gives them.It is almost like being in Europe withe the Dutch, you can't go anywhere without seeing one. This is not meant as a criticism of the Dutch, but rather it is a song of praise to their adventurous spirit.
Wanaka was quite a large town and we parked on the lake front whilst we went and had a look around. We found a supermarket and stocked up with so much stuff that I had to go and fetch the van who was resting quietly,contemplating the lake. Having replenished our supplies we drove off to find our site which was a good thirty minute walk out of the town, so having booked in and put everything away in cupboards we went back into the town for a real look around, not just a quick perusal of the supermarket. The highlight of this trip for me was the chance to purchase a handmade ice realm which we devoured on the lake front in the late afternoon sun. One of the great joys of travelling, is of course, the chance to sample some local ice creams and beers. Personally I prefer the latter, but Rosemarie  probably prefers the ice cream.
We were perched high on a hill looking down towards the lake on our campsite, but unfortunately we couldn't actually see the lake. The high country was magnificent and we enjoyed the sunset after which the temperature fell surprisingly quickly.the night sky was magnificent thousands of stars stretching as far as the eye could see.
We had thought we might spend two nights at Wanaka but as we were so far out of the town we decided to curtail that to one so that hopefully we could lend some time with our friends Julian and Fran who are going to be at our next stop, Queenstown. They are travelling in a motor home and purely by chance we are both here together. At one point we didn't think we would get to see them but we had a moment of mental clarity and reversed our direction of travel around the South Island so that there would be a possibility that we could meet. After four months travelling it will be good to see someone from home.