After we get settled at Okaka Lodge, we decided to head a little further up the ridge to explore the area. We followed the boardwalk up to the top of the ridge where a loop track took us around a series of small lakes and rock formations.
After spending most of the day walking through the dense forest, it was strange to see the rocks perched amongst the low lying tussock grass. Some reminded me of the layered sandstone we had seen in Coyote Buttes in the Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness in Arizona (but with out the deep red colour, of course)!
We took our time exploring the area, the afternoon light was just right for us to see through the crystal clear water in the small lakes.
From the ridge we were able to look back down on the coast, and tried not to think too much about the fact that the hut we were staying at the next night was down on the coast!
We were incredibly fortunate to have such a beautifully clear day and were able to see across Fiordland National Park towards Lake Poteriteri in the distance.
We looped back to the boardwalk to start heading towards the hut and after sitting for a while to enjoy the view and appreciate the climb that we had made to get up here, we made our way back to the lodge for some dinner.
