Wanaka and Queenstown

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Wanaka and Queenstown

Saturday 12th
Went for a walk along the Rob Roy track today but not quite as simple as it sounds. We had to drive 20 km on tarmac roads and then 30km on a dirt road to get to the start. The dirt track was falling apart and also included 7 fords which got fuller as the slightly rainy day went on. Fun!
When we reached the start of the walk the wind was blowing hard along the valley which made it a little scary crossing the swing bridge at the start as it was swinging well before you even stepped on it. Made it though - to complete the excellent walk up the hill through woodland to the base of the Rob Roy glacier.

Sunday 13th
Headed from Wanaka to Queenstown over an impressive mountain pass and dropped into Arrowtown. This is a small boutique shopping town with lots of nice old buildings and loads of tourists! We wandered in search of lunch and came across the microbrewery in a quiet square which also served food – perfection. After a longish lunch we moved on towards Queenstown and went on the Shotover jet. This is a fast jet boat that takes you on a 40 minute trip along the Shotover river, through gorges and over rapids and with a whole load of 360 degree spins to ensure you get thoroughly wet.

Monday 14th
Drove along the lake from Queenstown to Glenorchy which took a long time as we had to keep stopping to look at the great views. In the afternoon we went to the briefing for our Milford Track walk which starts Tuesday morning – there is a long list of stuff we need to carry with us, so spent the evening working out how much we really need so our rucksacks are not too heavy..

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