Date: Monday 4 March 2013
Route: Wanaka to Makarora
Distance: 78km
Weather: clear and warm, strong headwind from midday
Accommodation: Makarora Tourist Centre Limited

Today’s ride was more hilly than yesterday with lots of ups and downs. We extended the journey a bit by taking a detour around Hawea Flats before we got to the lake. This took us through farmland and the town of Hawea. The road next to Hawea Lake has some wonderful viewing spots, where you look down onto the lake and mountains beyond.

At the end of Lake Hawea the road goes over a high saddle and comes down on the other side to the north western shore of Lake Wanaka again (the same lake we left 50km earlier). Some of the mountains on the other shore of the lake are so high that they still have patches of snow on them. One of the peaks was very sharp and jagged, as if it had been freshly cut out of stone. There were many little streams and one solid waterfall coming down off the mountain, under the road and into the lake.

The road eventually flattened out at the end of the lake and we found ourselves following the Makaroa river. The headwind became strong and difficult at this point. We were glad when we arrived at the tourist centre where we are staying in a cabin.

There is not much at Makaroa apart from a DOC office, restaurant/pub and tourist accommodion. There is also a small airfield where they have a helicopter to take tourists on trips. There are a few tramping tracks that start here. We did some maintenance on the bikes, including Kris replacing his front brake pads.