Lake hawea to wanaka

From the hilltop yesterday I could see Wanaka south of Lake Hawea. All I had to do today was walk alongside Hawea River then upstream on the Clutha to be at Lake Wanaka tonight. 

Somewhere past here Hawea River joins the Clutha. I crossed a bridge built in the 1930s after stopping to chat to a woman with two Rhodesian Ridgebacks. She warned me there will be a bike race on my track to Glendhu Bay tomorrow. 

Albert Town is on the other side. I never heard of the place before but I will never forget it. A patisserie!

A mid-morning coffee stop, the best. No sooner had I taken the photo, with permission, than all four servers did too! 

Back to the Clutha, where the water is clear and turquoise and trees grew along the track. 

People have been tree planting along the track and I saw several of these waiting buckets. Let's call it Citizen Gardening. 

For a dry place, Central Otago seems to offer more than its share of water sports. A jetboat came past, 

and near the Wanaka mouth people were learning to paddleboard. 

By lunchtime I was lying on the horizontal trunk of a leafy willow at one of the bays near town. 

Nothing to it really. Saunter into Wanaka, check in at a backpackers, have a nice shower, go to a supermarket for resupplies and write my journal. 

And suffer my brother's derision for calling snorkels on trucks periscope exhausts. Duh.