eeearly morning walk - Lake Matheson, NZ

I got up at 4:30am the morning I was leaving Franz Josef to drive to Wanaka further south. Lenny recommended that I stop about 20 minutes down the road at Lake Matheson for the sunrise... if you walk to the back end of the lake, you are rewarded with a wonderful view of the Cooke Glacier and surrounding mountains, reflected in the lake.

Another perk of getting to the lake for sunrise is that the wind has not picked up yet and is not causing ripples on the water to mess up the clarity of the reflection.

I arrived at Lake Matheson and it was still dark out but slowly becoming lighter. I walked the 2.6 km 'Lake Matheson Circuit Walking Track'... it was nice BUT, again, I don't like going on hikes alone. This wasn't really a hike but just a leisurely, flat walk... but it was through the woods (most of the time I could not see the lake)... and in the dark... well, I didn't love that part.  :P  I concentrated on eating the apple I had brought for breakfast and was thankful that I had packed a headlamp!

The Lake Matheson Cafe... lovely building with lovely food!

First view of the mountains behind the lake... and growing lighter...