We wake in the Mackenzie basin — turquoise water under the Southern Alps, ending under the darkest sky in the country.
A detour up a braided-river valley to the lone hill where a kingdom once stood.
South over the passes to a gold-rush village burning amber and red.
To the still head of Wakatipu and a secret mirror lake hidden in the hills.
The road ends in the fjords — cliffs falling straight into black water.
