Wanaka - Cromwell - Clyde - Alexandra

So today was a sightseeing marathon, everything not far apart, but so much to see and one felt the need to stop every few meters because it was so beautiful. First thing in the morning, I noticed that my mattresses were damp at the bottom. Well, every morning there's so much moisture in the car here, and they're just lying on wood, but throughout the day they dried, and I’ll just do this every day now, hopefully it works out, yes the luxurious van life. Then in the morning, I went for a hike to Mt. Iron. It was good to walk, not as far as I thought, and such a great view over Lake Wanaka and even Lake Hawea, it was breathtakingly beautiful. I had a nice phone call with my sister during that, a good start to the day. Then I headed to Lake Dunston, which ultimately became my overnight spot. Right next to it is Cromwell, where I actually just wanted to see the Fruit Sculpture. I ended up at a lookout: The Junction Lookout and was also at the Cromwell Heritage Precinct, which was super cute to look around. On the way, I passed so many wineries, apple orchards, etc. Then I traveled along this wonderful route through the mountains by the Clutha River; it felt like being on another planet, just amazing how the mountains look there. Then I had a stop (and a few before that) at the Clyde Dam upper lookout. What can I say: wow, the river surrounded by the mountains, the sun was shining and reflecting on the water. I then drove through Clyde, another super cute small town (there really are always such cute towns here that could be in a Netflix show, just the way they look and the vibe here) and arrived in Alexandra, where I actually wanted to look at the train tracks, lol my mistake, they don’t exist anymore. There are only a few bridges left but further away. However, there’s kind of a bike path that goes along where the tracks used to be. I strolled along that for a bit and then went shopping. Then I saw something in the mountain, what is that? A clock. Yes, no path led there, I had to get closer, I’ve never seen anything like it. And yes, you could hike up there, so off I went. It wasn’t very far and the view was pure insanity, it was really great. Afterwards, I went through all the colorful hues of autumn and vineyards and through the canyon along the river back to Lake Dunston, where I will be staying tonight. Tomorrow I can finally take a shower again at the swimming pool in Cromwell before heading to Arrowtown.