Part three: The golden triangle
The ‘golden triangle’, as I like to call it, is the Queenstown–Wānaka–Cromwell/Clyde/Alexandra route and the roads in between. Most people will have heard enough about the adrenaline pumping and other attractions of Queenstown, such as jet boating, bungee jumping, and white-water rafting, so we’ll focus on the attractions of the other parts of this triangle.
And golden it is — not just because of the riches hewn from the ground and panned from rivers during the gold rush or because of the wealth brought in by the jet-setters who have settled into this most serene region, but mostly because of the tawny hues that colour the landscape from late summer to early winter.
We arrived in mid April; autumn was in full flight and the leaves were brilliant yellows, oranges, reds, and browns. We bypassed Queenstown altogether and headed for our accommodation, a modern house in the suburbs of Wānaka. The name ‘Wānaka’ is the South Island version of the word ‘wānanga’, a place of sacred knowledge or learning.
The next day we drove for 45 minutes to Makarora, a small town on State Highway (SH) 6 on the way to Haast and at the top of Lake Wānaka. The road is excellent, subject to some road works, and a real joy to drive with amazing scenery and views, first across Lake Hāwea and then, after crossing a narrow neck of land, Lake Wānaka.
This one-horse town has a
