One of our stops on the way down the coast was at Ship Cove or Tauperikaka, it's beautiful beach with sand dunes, and many dolphins or similar playing off the coast, just too far and fast to see properly. There's also a boarded walkway through swamp forest, a rare habitat now, almost unchanged since dinosaur times. The giant podocarps were initially harvested for ships' timbers, but the wood was too soft, sadly they didn't escape and were mostly cut down to be used as boxes for exporting butter and cheese, a bit ignominious for such a stately tree.
Next stop, the Blue Pools, possible starting point for the Gillespie Pass Circuit, other choices are wading or jetboat taxi across the river. The whole track is four days, including a day up to the mysterious Crucible Lake: the guidebook just says it's brilliant, but won't spoil the surprise!
Finally Wanaka, we were here at the same excellent accommodation, River Run , last year. Much of the building uses recycled farm materials either structurally or as artworks. A real treasure of a place, a hot-tub with a view too.
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