On the way to Wanaka, we spent some time near Lake Wetapo. We first stopped to see a canal—and spied the gorgeous mountains in the distance.

The canal was wide, very turquoise in color, and not moving water much—we guessed it

helped irrigate the surrounding area.

Our trusty little Toyota for the second week of our trip to New Zealand. This little six-speed car was fun to drive, had room for our “stuff” and got about 40 mpg!

The canal we stopped to see

eventually ended up dumping water

into a river via a spillway system.

A modern spillway released thousands of gallons of water into

the river below it.

Lake Wetapo is very blue-green in color. It is a huge lake at the base of the “New Zealand

Alps,” which are seen in the distance.

A self-portrait of the traveling Russells by

Lake Wetapo.

An interesting stone chapel was near the lake; we stopped to see it and a monument nearby.

The inside was very plain, but nice. A lectern and altar were at one end.

A nice, but small, organ was in the back

of the chapel.

This placard was mounted on the side of the stone chapel. “Mackenzie Country” has to do with this particular region of New

Zealand.

Near the church was a monument to a sheep dog.

The dog represents what is needed for a huge industry

in New Zealand—raising and caring for sheep.

A nice shot of Lake Wetapo from the shoreline. With no wind, the lake was smooth as glass.

At the end of Lake Wetapo, there was a nice dam. Bob, of course, had to explore the dam area.

A fair amount of water was being

released from the lake through several spillways in the dam.

The water released from the dam trundled down around a bend, probably

to be used by many fields in the area.

We stopped in a small town and had lunch.

Hunter’s Café and Bar was a great place for a burger.

A few shots of the bar and restaurant.

Of course, Bob had to sample some New Zealand

beer during lunch.

Between Lake Wetapo and Lake Wanaka, we crossed some fairly

barren mountains—but the flowers were nice along the way.

In some places, the “hills were

alive” with color.

Nice yellow flowers!

Along the road, we could see bales of hay neatly rolled and stored. Bob took several photos of

the hay bales.

The drive around the Lake Wetapo area proved to be very relaxing and enjoyable.