Blogs from Wanaka, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 37

Yesterday afternoon I looked around Wanka and got to know the area and what things were to do. Today I took a walk into Wanka which took 5 mins stopping at a New Zealand Car Boot Sale which was interesting. When I got down to the lake side I took one of the walks along the lake side which lasted an hour then returned to Wanka. I then went out to the puzzle factory and also walked up Mount Iron, I then went back to the hostel and met up with Michelle and we went down for a Thai meal. ... read more

Bonjour tout le monde! Thanks to Gill, Chantal, Ans and Vero for yr last messages, lovely to read them. I'm back on my feet since last Monday when I took my little bus to Lake Wanaka (only 6 hours...) and had a fab time staying with Jacou, a French potter and her son who's lived in New Zealand for 15 years. Wanaka and all the lake region is just awesome and many people come here on hols and end up staying I'm told. I'm not surprised. I did some great walks, some mountain biking and trekked up and down Mount Iron, so you see I'm well fit again! I helped Jacou set up her new pottery shop at her home and we had a party on Wed with a few friends of hers to celebrate the ... read more

Back to Otago: Queenstown Arriving in Queenstown after so much untamed wilderness in Fiordland, we felt like we’d hit a bustling, over-commercialised metropolis….by NZ standards, at any rate! The town seems to be full of 20-something Brits, although it’s still a relatively quiet time of year there. The downside to this tourist mecca is that the prices seem to be several notches higher than everywhere else we’ve been to, so Rod scrapped tentative plans to brave a ‘canyon swing’ jump and, instead, we enjoyed the stuff we could do for free. Rod got out for more mountain biking on Queenstown’s well-organised trails and he dragged me out on a full day walk to the summit of Ben Lomond (the biggest mountain in the area). The DOC info described the walk as difficult and requiring “high fitness”, ... read more

Puzzling World just outside Wanaka is a child's dream. Tehre is a two level maze where you have to find the yellow, green, red and blue towers, with yellow being the hardest - and it def is! Despite flying through the other three we quickly got lost, made endless circles and met constant cul de sacs before finding yellow and then of course our way out. The cafe inside has on all various puzzles on all tables. These could keep you entertained for hours and I spent a long time trying to make circles with coloured lines on tiles! The Illusion room has all the made looking holograms, a room of faces whose eyes follow you everywhere you go. The Ames Room due to how it's constructed makes people look like giants and conversely dwarves depending ... read more

Ok, in a deluxe 2 berth camper van, but still camping it is! Just a quick note to say that we are alive and well and down towards the south of the South Island...no opportunity to put up pictures, but they will follow! Monday night in Christchurch we caught up with my nephews, Karens boys Sam & Mike, who I haven't seen in 10 years, they have grown into great boys. After a night out with them and then sleeping in the van on their driveway we headed west towards (and then through) the Southern Alps via Arthurs Pass. Journey through the mountains was horrid - very very windy, misty and very wet!! Didnt get to see the mountains much! We then spent a night in Greymouth and went to see the Pancake Rocks, which were ... read more