Puzzle World

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It was a bit of an effort to get going this morning … a few stiff muscles from our climb up the Fox Glacier yesterday, together with the fact that it was freezing cold in our motel room. The heater had broken down during the night and you could see your breath by morning.

I dropped the group off at Puzzling World - one of Wanaka’s premier attractions, and headed out to the Wanaka Air Force Museum. It is located in a fairly small hanger beside the main runway. It was deserted when I arrived. There was a write up and display associated with many (I assume all) of the New Zealand air units (most of which operated solely during WWII). A few static displays of aircraft were on display. A Hawker Hurricane and Polikarpov I-153 “Chaika” were beautifully restored. My only complaint was the fact that this building was not heated either. It was colder inside than out.

After touring around the airport, I checked in with the rest of the crew who were still busy puzzling. I found a short tramp (the Iron Mountain) nearby, which wrapped around a fair sized hill. At the top, there was a 360 degree unobstructed view of the surrounds, including an aerial view of Puzzling World and the town of Wanaka. At the top I phoned to check in and was made to jump up and down to prove that I was indeed at the top of the hill (more than was likely necessary).

Marie has been fighting off a bit of a cold. So later in the afternoon, we dropped her back to the motel where blessedly the heater was being fixed. We left her with a Lemsip (Neo Citran) and the promise of heat, while we headed out to the Criffel Peak Safari for an ATV tour. Josh was able to ride his own ATV which was the highlight of the trek. He took to the bike well, if a little tentatively at first. Adrianne on the other hand couldn’t open the throttle wide enough. The Safari itself passed through a series of sheep paddocks in the valley. It was easy to see why ATVs are used to herd the sheep.

Later, we headed out for a fine pizza dinner with a revitalized Marie.

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Photos

On Safari
The whole crew out on safari - well, riding through a sheep farm anyway.