Bruce Bay to Haast

Another day through thick and humid rainforest with the sun mercilessly beating down on us. First stop of the day was Lake Paringa, a beautiful spot for a picnic, if it wasn´t for the sandflies. Ella didn´t care and she went straight into the water. We had our lunch and were invited for coffee by Danish tourists. It was impossible to get Ella back into the buggy and we stayed for another hour in order to make sure she was happy to continue. It took a chocolate bar to convince her. We were not too sure where we were going to camp because there are no facilities until Haast. After a few climbs that were harder than we would have thought, probably because of the heat, we got to lake Moeraki. The scenery once again is absolutely stunning here and we decided to have a look at the Moeraki Lodge, maybe we could stay there or pitch the tent somewhere on the property. The location of the Moeraki Lodge is one of great privilege and tranquillity but unfortunately not within our budget. We were in a bit of a difficult situation because it now would be impossible to get Ella back into the buggy. The Moeraki Lodge staff, however, gave us another lesson in Kiwi hospitality and offered to drive us all the way into Haast. We could not refuse such an offer and were very lucky, happy and grateful to get all the way to Haast.
A quick stop at Knight´s Point where we could see the seals sunbathing and then straight into Haast for a shower and lunch. We met a Canadian couple whom we met a few times now and they must have wondered how on earth we got so fast to Haast. Well, when they read this post they´ll know. Sorry guys, we cheated!