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Geo: -44.85, 168.388
Queenstown is known for its adrenaline-inducing adventures; one can find anything from skydiving to bungy jumping or parabungy to white-water rafting. Not being inclined towards this craziness at this stage of our lives, we drove through Queenstown, north for about an hour, through the sleepy town of Glenorchy and over to Kinloch Lodge. Although the weather was mostly cold and rainy during our 3-day stay, we managed to do a couple of nearby walks.
We used the time and location to get laundry done, cook some warm comfort foods, watch movies in the cozy movie room, hang out with other travellers, read, and do other quiet activities. The hot tub was sweet! Sitting in an afternoon rain overlooking the lake with the surrounding mountains casting their shadows down upon us was epic. Not exactly adrenaline-invoking choices…so on our way out of the area we stopped to
watch some bungy jumping.
Loved it! I wouldn't pay the $180 for the 30-second long blast but it did rekindle a longtime desire to paraglide (run off a mountain with a parachute) which, but for bad weather, I came so close to doing some twenty years ago in Switzerland. Ahhh, the memories came back of the sleepless night before my scheduled jump in anticipation of a daring and exciting pursuit. Am I too old to be trying these things? Is it reckless to be thinking of doing a paraglide or skydive? I don't know…and haven't taken any action yet.
Wanaka is a small town north of Queenstown that wraps around Wanaka Lake. As soon as we arrived, we registered at 'Wanaka Bakpaka' and dashed off to a late afternoon hike to Diamond Lake. The afternoon sun created ever-changing hues on the mountains that continued to inspire us.
The best walk EVER was outside Wanaka on the Rob Roy Valley Track which took us up to dramatic and pristine scenery including the Rob Roy Glacier which had been freshly snowed upon just a few days prior to our visit. The sun was shining so water was flowing everywhere and the white snow glistened so brightly we could barely look at it. Breathtaking! And to top it off, we were the only people on the trail for the entire 3 hour walk up. Eventually others joined us but by then we were on our way back. It paid off to get an early start.
The weather has been
colder than we expected. Have I said that before? You will notice in any photos of me I am wearing the same thing over and over; it has become very monotonous. I am anxiously awaiting some sunshine and heat on my skin. I know our friends and family in Canada are likely saying the same thing with not much hope of feeling the warmth of the sunshine on their skin.
You will notice periodically in our posts that some of the photos have their title followed by ‘dfs'. Don't worry, Jim is not losing his touch; those are my pics. Got to try out the new camera and experiment!
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Nora
non-member comment
This is a wonderful picture of you on your adventures........sure have enjoyed the posts and the gorgeous pictures.