30.01 Monday, Hayes Lake, Queenstown, Glenorchy, Paradise, sunny, 25 degrees

We drive into Queenstown, to the starting point of the hike, altitude above the city, in the upscale neighborhood. Lots of great villas and estates. First we have breakfast, then we start the hill track. It starts steep uphill at the beginning, then pleasantly uphill through the forest. The path in the forest is lined with very beautiful and many fly agarics. After about 90 minutes we are at the top with a wonderful view of Lake Wakatipu and the snow-covered mountains. Then the descent, Malte is already whining. After a total of 3 hours we are back at the starting point. We have lunch at Britz and drive towards Glenorchy at 5:00 pm - it is located at the northernmost tip of the lake and is the starting point for 2 of the most beautiful hikes in NZ. The drive to Glenorchy, 55 km away, already offers a lot of wonderful views. Glenorchy is a small town with a general store. We continue driving to FC Diamondlake on Paradisestr. The last 10 km are gravel road. It is raining at night.