Te Anu to Wanaka, NZ 11-5-08

Te Anu to Wanaka, NZ 11/5/08

This morning about 2am, I woke up and looked out to see the rain. To my surprise, the grass and everything on it was covered with white. We had expected snow in the mountains but instead it was right here on the lake shoreline. Basically it was snow at shore level. I woke up Wayne so he would see the beauty before it melted in the AM. When we got up in the morning it was still covered with 4 inches of snow. As we drove to Cromwell the landscape was ice and snow, mountains and grassy plains. What a view! The sheep that had been grazing on grass were now walking in snow. As we drove along, we saw a ewe and two lambs running towards us in our lane of the highway. We avoided a head on collision. We came along side the Kingston Flyer (a local train) and it was traveling slowly. At the front end two sheep were running on the tracks. The conductor was yelling at them trying to get them off the tracks.

We stopped in Cromwell a village where families have lived for generations, farming, and now with the addition of wineries. .We were advised of the closure on the highway due to a truck spillage of hazardous material. We attempted to drive round the spill area but could not. We waited for the next advisory and were told that the road would not be open until the morning. We returned to Wanaka, my favorite setting in New Zealand. We found the Oakridge Resort and settled into a beautiful room for the night. There have been snow flurries off and on during the afternoon. We drove into the town to take photos of the Lake Wanaka with a backdrop of snow covered Alps.

Tomorrow we head out since we are now a day behind in our plan to see Mt Cook.