Blogs from Wanaka, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 33

Wow! I would even make the controversial statement that Mt. Aspiring is my personal favourite National Park. Yes, even more than Abel Tasman or even Fiordland and Aoraki / Mt. Cook National Park (as I write this with hindsight of the latter two). But before I go on to rave about this park and the fabulous Rob Roy Valley track, a little word on Wanaka itself. Wanaka We had never set out to stay in Wanaka, but talking to some fellow travellers at Abel Tasman was enough to persuade us to stay here as the gateway to Mt. Aspiring National Park. They spoke of a fantastic walk in the shadow of snow capped mountains and a 51km drive up a gravel road and over fords! Sounded like an adventure to me, so we stole 1 night ... read more

Time for an easy day after so much walking so I went to Puzzling World. This included a room full of faces that follow you round, a room where snooker balls appear to roll uphill and a big 3D maze. The evening highlight was the most competitive game of spoons I've ever played - with two Swiss girls Sara and Rachel and four Israeli guys. Sara's impressive table-leaping soon meant that she was allocated her own spoon! Next day it was back to walking and Sara, Rachel and I went up the large hill (1800m) overlooking Lake Wanaka - Mt Roy. The views were extremely impressive and I highly recommend this walk on a clear day for anyone in Wanaka. ... read more

The extra hour in bed due to the end of NZ light saving was very welcome but we still struggled to check out by 10am. The initial drizzle quickly cleared and intermittent sun followed us as we travelled the scenic route over the Crown Range to Wanaka. We initially stopped to view the Shotover Jet boats at their base. They are astonishingly fast and manoeuvrable. We also stopped for coffee and scones at the former gold prospecting town of Arrowtown. It has a bit of a Wild West look with all the wooden buildings on the main street - but these are now largely gift shops but it still has a certain charm. The twisting road that snakes steeply giving excellent vistas back over Arrowtown and right back to Queenstown is a lovely if tortuous ... read more

Sooo, unterdessen bin ich auf der Suedinsel gelandet. Habe gerade den ersten Regentag seit meiner Ankunft in Neuseeland, eine gute Gelegenheit also mal wieder einen Eintrag zu schreiben. Puh, eigentlich gar nicht so einfach sich zurueck zu erinnern wo ich in den letzten Wochen so war. Gluecklicherweise hab ich noch meine Fotos um mich zu erinnern. Ja, Wellington war richtig cool. Die ganze Atmosphaere und auch die Stimmung Abends im Ausgang waren genial. Ich war noch im Te Papa Museum in Wellington, eine riesen Sammlung von Artefakten aus der Gruendungszeit Neuseelands sowie neuen Ausstellungen und Kunstsammlungen. Ein Riesending von einem Museum und wirklich toll aufgebaut. Ich hab noch einige Zeit in Wellington damit verbracht einfach durch die Strassen zu schlendern und mir alles genau anzukucken, am Meer zu sitzen und ein paar lokale Biere zu meinen ... read more

The Tarei Gorge Scenic Railway was the first of my three acclaimed "great train journeys of the world" on this trip. It was indeed lovely. We were on old train carriages pulled by a diesel locomotive (rather than the original steam) and the railway line follows a single track winding through the impressive Tarei Gorge. You could stand outside between the carriages, feel the breeze on your face and watch a very pleasant world go by. Oh and I had a cup of tea, scone & jam in the buffet car. The railway was met by a connecting coach with a very scenic five hour drive with lots of helpful comments by the enthusiastic driver through to Queenstown ("adreneline capital of the world") where I arrived about 21:00 hours. After checking in, I took a stroll ... read more