Wanaka - Day 9

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Today is a cruisey day, no hectic days crammed with plans - we are driving to Wanaka today. We are travelling on the same road that we used to get to Haast so we seen most the sights. Wanna make a few stops and then enjoy relaxin & exploring Wanaka (top ski destination in NZ) known for its winter beauty, surrounded by snow covered peaks. From Haast to Wanaka is 148kms (roughly 3:20hrs driving time). We are definately in no hurry so eat our breakfast in leisure & after a shower load up the car again with our bags & food. We stop at a few named spots and a lot of unmarked spots just to admire the stunning scenery. Driving in that area inthe early morning is just to amazing - really feels like the hills & mountains are giving birth to the clouds and releasing them to the sky. I so could live here if it wasnt for the Sandflies - Maori legend says that God created the South Island and did not want man to take over the area so infested the area with sandflies, mosquitoes & fleas! I sure will never live there and would have to some insect repellent if I ever did go back. Very bite turned to a bruised, red & bluish lump aggravated by my constant itching.

First Stop - Fantail falls. This is not far from the Gates of Haast & Thunder Creek falls but we did not stop here on the way up so decided to on the way back. Again the amazing thing in this entire area has been the bluness of the water - the most beautiful blue. And again I was attacked by a 100 sandflies and had to run for cover. Named obviously because it spreads out like a fan - it a short 5min walk from the car park and back again.

Second Stop - Another Waterfall at the side of the road. Just a break from the driving we stopped alongside a waterfall just off the main highway. Stretched or legs and had a walk down to the lake where boat jetty. Two 4 x 4 parked up with boat trailers, obviously out on the water enjoying the simpler things in life. We then started discussing how cool it would be to own a boat and learn about cruising the numerous lakes & rivers in NZ - aah that would be the life.

Third Stop - Viewing Point of Lake Hawea. Angie is being a grumpy, can see her grumpy face in one of the photos but I manage to remain by calm & charming self and we manage to smooth out whatever it was we were fighting about. The viewing point we stopped at was on top of a hill and looking down at Lake Hawea. Angie gets out to make a video and I am so not interested in being in the video all frustrated and bitten. There is no one on the road for miles so I quickly change into my dress from the back of the car - just as I had fifnished putting on my dress a car passes by blarring its hooter and some guys waving at us, Angie has nicknamed me "the flasher" 😉 Anyhow I am not bothered. The scenery was amazing so we stopped.

Fourth Stop - Lake Hawea. We stop at the bottom of the hill to enjoy the view of the Lake - it was so windy I had to hold my cap and dress the whole time. The waves were crashing against the rocks and splashing us in the process. Jump back into the car and head to Wanaka.

Fourth Stop - Puzzling World. I remember when we were in the planning stages of the trip we phoned Bals in the UK to tell her about our plans, and one of her first questions was - are you guys going to PUZZLING WORLD - at the time I had just said yes we were just to make her jealous 😊 When we got there we were going to take some quick pics just to send Bals and make her jealous, but when we got there we thought why the hell not. We started outside trying to take some silly pics with the leaning towers - Anshu was so useless at taking the pictures that required a bit of eye coordination. Then we were browsing through the puzzling world store trying to get some gifts for the familio - especially for Arun (brother-in-law) who loves all mind games. Got a whisky glass for Dad, so wicked! Decided to use the toilets and loved the toilets filled allsorts of weird things - jelly beans, playing cards, bugs. Then into the Roman toilet rooms for a photograph or two.
Decided we that enjoyed the free stuff and paid our $12 for the Labtrinth and the Illusion Rooms. The labrinth was so funny and had us in splits everytime we came to a dead-end, luckily we didnt lose each other - finding each other would have been a mission. Next it was exploring the illiusion rooms - the tilted house was so quirky, we kept feeling disoriented and losing our balance, especially Angie in her pregnant condition. Pretty cool how the water was flowing uphill and the ball on the pool table kept going up instead of coming down. The other cool room was the "The Room of Following Faces", where the faces of the famous people (Churchill, Mother Teresa, Mandela, Lincoln and other) followed you every where you went. The faces appeared to be coming out of the wall but were infact hollow. Overally a fun experience - must have spent at least two hours there, happy as pigs in mud.

Fifth Stop - Check Into Hostel. CHecked onto the hostel - what a view was all I could think. Id love to retire in a home with a view like this. Snow capped mountains on the one side and the Lake in front. Had a cup of tea and some snacks before going off to explore Wanaka on foot.

Wanaka. Winter playground for the ski-lovers was beautiful. The skies were the strangest ochre colour, soooo beautiful. As me were browsing through the shops, I overheard the someone say the unusual colour of the sky was caused by the fires that were happening in Australia. That must have been the reason I thought to myself, but whatever the reason - it was beautiful, I did try and capture it on camera but didnt quite manage. After browsing through the quirky little shops we walking along the shores of Lake Wanaka and sat and watched people feeding the seagulls. Then through the parks and back to the hostel to prepare some dinner. Sat and watched the amazing view while having our dinner and much needed glass of wine.

Final Evening Stroll for the Day. The colours of the skies and scenery outside were so inviting we decided to go for another stroll along the shores of Lake Wanaka. So relaxing and beautiful. By now we're exhausted, its been a long day and we are ready for bed. BAck to the hostel to get ready for bed.

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Photos

The Mountain Ranges
in the distance.