Queenstown, Wanaka, Haast with a few stops and nights on the way. But we are driving longer distances now as we want to get north to warmer weather now asap.
After coming back from the track the night we heard something bigger than a little mouse moving on the engine and thought it was a stoat or something. Next morning we discovered it was a rat which had begun to build a nest in our battery box. Mouse, ok, rat no. So we set up a rattrap in the battery box but apparently we had scared it off before in starting the engine and making noise, as we didn't hear anything again fortunately. Among the stuff it had used to make itself comfortable was a sock (not one of ours) and lots of stuff it must have draged up to there.
But to do the rat right, it paid its fees and left us a 50ct piece :D
One thing to do on the way north was the Copland track to the first hut where natural hot pools exist. And Tom and Kay are going to be hut warden here so we saw them again too.
The track is in good condition but still 17km to walk and it will defenitly be the last walk for the boots which hurt quite a bit. But the hot pools were worth it! Very relaxing to lie in there and watch the stars and mountains! Even better as I had thought to carry beer up here :)
Instead of doing a daywalk we spend the 2nd day at the hut doing basically nothing but sitting in the sun, reading and sitting in the hot pools. 3rd day was an easy walk back downwards this time. In total we spend ~11 hrs walking and have been in the pools around the same length!