Off to the lakes! After a good night’s sleep, we set off to Manapouri lake. We meandered next to the river all the way. The river is heavily controlled for hydo-electric power, and is now less than a 10th of it’s previous flow rate (and this took decades of conservation work).

We cycled through beautiful farm land, getting ever-closer to the mountains. We found bathrooms in a place called Blackmount, which appeared to be primarily a school and a very popular indoor swimming pool. The remoteness was really beautiful.

We made it to Manapouri, where we went to a local restaurant for dinner. What a treat! We stayed at the “Possum Lodge”, a holiday park by the water…terrible name, but it worked.

The lake is beautiful with mountains surrounding it. It’s also the start of the lake2lake trail, which we’ll be taking tomorrow.