On the drive from Mt. Cook to Queenstown, I had a few stops I wanted to make. First, I stopped and hiked down to the shores of Lake Pukaki.

Just a lovely sendoff from the Mt. Cook Area.

From there, I stopped in Twizel for dinner and continued driving…until I saw a small sign for ‘Clay Cliffs’. Not having a clue what this was, I decided to investigate. A 10 minute drive and 15 minute hike and I was very much thankful I took the chance.

I’m not sure how some Badlands from the US got transported here, but I loved hiking here. The area is remarkably tiny, but after walking along the outside of the entire stretch of cliffs (probably 500m long total), I found a spot where you could hike into the area.

Very cool spot.

Some fool (me) decided to climb quite a bit as well. Good perspective, but also tricky getting back down.

More peaks.

One last look.

How everything looks from the outside in the early evening sunlight.

And one last look at the area. It really is a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ kind of thing when driving.

From there, I completely drove by my intended camping spot and instead found myself in Lindis Pass. A beautiful spot of peaks and valleys and nothing but a simple highway cutting through it. No houses, towns or anything else. I camped at a designated camping spot near here, in the ruins of an old hotel. Kind of eerie now that I think about it. But the natural surroundings were first rate.