South Island Trip 2 Day 6 - Gates of Haast and Wanaka

Okay, back to the trip through the South Island.

We left the west coast in the morning and headed straight for the mountains, aiming for a mountain pass called The Gates of Haast.  Sounds like something from a fantasy novel.  We had a bit of a drive ahead of us, so I didn't want to stop too often, but we couldn't help but pull over a few times and snap some photos as the scenery was just as amazing as previous days.

Here are a few photos from the highway of the misty mountains:

We passed a sign for a waterfall, so we pulled over for a rest.  It turned out you needed to traverse a rock field to get within sight of the waterfall.  Here is a funny photo - parents on the left, family on the right, all trying to pick their way over the unstable terrain.

Aidan and Evelyn resting and enjoying the view, finally:

Once through the pass, we came out the other side of the Southern Alps and made our way south to a region of lakes and mountains.  Each lake was more beautiful than the last and the views were often literally jaw-dropping.  Here is one of my favorite views - the sight of Lake Hawea on the way down to Wanaka:

The vibrant colors of the land and sky stopped us in our tracks and I took a few too many photos.  Here are a few:

Thanks, Dad!  A photo of the two of us:

From Wanaka, you could look up Lake Wanaka and see the mountains as a backdrop to the lake.  Those mountains were used in several Lord of the Rings shots, especially when Gandalf escapes Orthanc on the back of the Great Eagle, Gwaihir the Windlord.

We played for a bit in Wanaka, a cool little town with lots of cool little cafes and eateries and ice cream shops.  I would have been happy to stay here for a few days.  We enjoyed the beach for an hour or so before heading on to Arrowtown and Queenstown where we were staying the night.  Here is Jasper, climbing a giant tree trunk in Wanaka:

Another shot of the lake:

Jasper and my folks strolling the beach:

One last shot of the boys and my folks before we left Wanaka:

On our way to Queenstown, everyone humored me and let me drive a little bit out of our way to a place called Maori Point Road.  Turned out, Maori Point Road isn't paved.  We bounced our way down the dirt path until we came to this forest.  Unfortunately, the forest is private land and so we couldn't go wander around, BUT - if you watch this clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e7qhhLbAok) starting at 2:11, you will see The Flight to the Ford where Arwen is pursued by the Black Riders while she is trying to rescue Frodo and get him to Rivendell before he dies of his wounds.  The forest that she rides through is the forest we stopped at.

Pretty lame as far as touring filming sites goes, but they can't all be winners.  Sometimes, you drive down a dirt road 30 minutes out of your way with your entire family in the car and just take a picture of a forest that looks like any other forest out the car window because some people were somewhere near there ten years ago filming a fantasy movie.  We've all been there.