Wanaka's Blue Pools: invigorating and inspiring 25 Feb, 2021 02:46 AM 5 minutes to read Wanaka's Blue Pools. Photo / Getty NZ Herald By: Kirsty Gordge Faced with the pure beauty of Otago's mountain-fed Blue Pools, there's only one way to go, writes Kirsty Gordge Imagine this: standing on a wooden swing bridge in a remote landscape, breathing fresh mountain air, overlooking a still pool of water so blue you think you can see the bottom — if only you gape a little longer. Are you in Samoa, at the Upolu ocean trench? Antarctica, perhaps? Or maybe at a cenote in Mexico? No. You're one hour from Wānaka, at a calm pooling of crisp water before the Blue River meets the Makarora River in a chaotic rush of energy further downstream.