January 13: Makarora to Wanaka

As the sun rose up over the mountains, the chill in the air began to disappear. The road over the yesterday's pass was still closed for the night so the area sheep herders had free run of the road and were slowly moving their flocks down the street. This could have presented a problem for the bikers, but the sheep herders took pity and "parted the way" for each one as they pedaled by. Several hundred sheep and a dozen pedalers all sharing the road to Wanaka!

The route to Wanaka took the group down east side of Lake Wanaka then across the narrow strip of land called the Neck to Lake Hawea. "In Maori legend both lakes were formed by the chief Te Rakaihautu, who gouged out the lakes with his mighty hoe, forming mountains from the spoil. Lake Hawea (410 deep) is a long narrow, glacial lake, which was raised 20 m in 1958 to provide extra storage for hydroelectric power generation." Pedal tour brochure.

The landscape has now changed from the rainforest, humid, wet, greenery to the more arid wind blown drier, dense bush. Deer farms sprinkle the countryside with an occasional farm field of sheep paddocks.. The large ferns are gone and replaced with pine.

The night's stay is in Wanaka, a small resort town directly on Lake Wanaka. With its aquamarine colored water it seems to just glow in the sunlight. The hotel is a B & B on the edge of town within easy walking distance to the activities.