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| That Wanaka Tree |
In a country chock full of nice places, Wanaka was probably the nicest of
the nice. Situated at the southern end of a lake and the foot of several
mountains and hills, there is charming scenery everywhere you look, and the
place even manages not to be too touristy. The exception to this is at the
Wanaka Tree (see above), a solitary tree that is growing out the water. It's a
wonder it's even still standing given the number of people that have damaged it,
both deliberately or accidentally.
My Airbnb was also very spacious and comfortable. The only problem was it was
perched 2km up a hill (though the hill wasn't quite as
steep as Dunedin's), so
I got plenty of exercise during my time here.
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And there was a great view that would have been even greater if that
house wasn't there
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My host was also kind enough to lend me a bike which was great for
getting around town. I did consider cycling around 30 kilometres to a village called Cardrona,
but one look at the bike's saddle convinced me that my arse might not survive
the trip.
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There were plenty of hills and mountains waiting to be climbed. I opted for
the closer, easier, and lower Mount Iron, mainly because I didn't get out of
bed in time to do Roy's Peak (it was also pretty hot during the day so I
didn't fancy spending all day in the blistering sunshine).
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The view from Mount Iron
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I also did yet another kayak tour, although the exciting development this
time was that it was a solo kayak. Generally, they'll not you rent a
single kayak unless you've got certificates to show you know what you're
doing, but because Lake Wānaka is very calm, so off I went. I spent quite a
long time chasing this mother-and-child pair of grebes that I didn't have
much time to explore Ruby Island half way down the lake.
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What an odd boat/house/boathouse
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| The view from Ruby Island. Sadly I didn't find any rubies or other precious gemstones |
Wānaka parkrun was notable for two reasons. One was that there were more
tourists than locals. And the other way that for the first parkrun I've done
in New Zealand, it was actually a wee bit hilly.
I had a few hours to kill before my bus journey, so popped in to
"Puzzling World", which was rather similar to the Camera Obscura in
Edinburgh, but also boasted a maze that took me far longer to escape than I would have
liked.
Indoors, there was various optical illusions, and a room where everything
was tilted. It was bizarre and quite nauseating so I didn't hang about
long. But the other exhibits were interesting, and there was a whole section
devoted to MC Escher (my favourite artist, not a DJ!).
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Wānaka's much tiltier answer to the Leaning Tower of Pisa
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Next up, the last stop in my Kiwi adventure, Queenstown!
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