RTW Day 39 - Wanaka

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And so our 12,000 mile journey home begins. Today we drive to Wanaka. The SatNav can’t cope with the mountainous terrain so I have to resort to old fashioned navigating. We successfully reach our destination despite the old man’s inability to follow basic instructions.

For several miles we drive alongside Lake Wakatipu, also known as Thunderbolt Lake as it resembles a flash of lightning. If Zorro created a lake, it would look like this.

We stop for lunch at Queenstown. My guide book informs me it is NZ’s adrenaline capital and lists various bungee, sky swing and luge opportunities. We have brought up 2 children and spent our working lives in schools, airports and visa sections. We don’t feel the need to jump off a cable car attached to a piece of elastic for extra adrenaline.

We opt instead for a walk in the lakeside gardens with the Remarkable mountains in the background. We choose a secluded spot for a picnic but news of the arrival of food soon spreads and we are rapidly surrounded by a gang of ducks.

A quick toilet stop before we set off and a disconcerting first – a time limited toilet. Once you activate the electronic lock, a rather creepy voice tells you that you have ten minutes. I’m not sure what happens after 10 minutes, I don’t stay to find out but it is unsettling knowing you are being timed going about your business.

On the way out of town we stop at Kawarau suspension bridge. It’s a pretty little bridge over an opal blue river. It’s also the original home of bungee. If you have more money than sense, you can jump off the pretty little bridge headfirst towards the opal blue river.

There aren’t actually any jumpers, just a viewing platform where Chinese tourists jostle for position to take photos should anyone decide that paying $200 to jump off a bridge is how they want to spend 10 seconds of their Monday afternoon.

We arrive at our motel in Wanaka. It’s on the shore of Lake Wanaka at the foot of Mount Aspiring. It’s very picturesque but I seem to be suffering from sightseeing fatigue. Suddenly it all feels a bit too much too far from home.

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