Pioneer spirit

Leaving Queenstown, we drive up the ski area for amazing views from Coronet Peak over the Remarkables mountain range and the farmland in the valleys. A spectacular sight!

We stop off at the Cardrona Hotel for a restorative beverage on our drive from Queenstown, and take in the heritage buildings and beer garden, which was being prepared for an afternoon wedding.

Cardrona is the area where I take a Western style horse trek later in the week, on an Appaloosa horse called Cheesy and pretend I am Clint Eastwood for a while, being followed by inquisitive rabbits and falcons! The horses don’t have shoes, as they never go on the metalled roads. Being Appaloosa, they are very sure footed, and have a lovely smooth canter.

Finding our turangawaewae

Lake Wanaka is New Zealand’s fourth largest lake, and sparkling on the edge of town, provides a great stepping stone for exploring Mount Aspiring national park. With active glaciers, hanging valleys and the Southern Alps, it feels like Switzerland, though the alpine flora is unique to New Zealand, and the tree ferns a bit of a contrast!

Wanaka itself is our favourite town so far! As the Maori say, it is our ‘turangawaewae’ (our place to stand). Smaller and less cosmopolitan than Queenstown, attracting a slightly older demographic, but not too big, we have everything we need in this Goldilocks town – organic local food, great bars and restaurants, lovely lakeside walks and even a retro cinema.

The Paradiso Cinema is a true retro experience, appropriate for our viewing of Brooklyn, set in 1950s New York, with a variety of sofas, airplane and bus seats to choose from, and an interval with freshly baked (and gf) cookies to munch on!

For a mind-bending experience we visit Puzzling World, get lost in the maze and have fun in the illusion rooms and the Ames forced perspective room, and experience some of the illusion techniques used in the LOTR trilogy.

Plenty great food here, from pulled pork burgers at Alivate, to an authentic curry at The Spice Room, though we are predominantly self catering of course! Really!

Exploring Mount Aspiring national park is a must, and we take in the walk to Rob Roy glacier, which included a hairy drive through several fords along yet another back country gravel road through the Matukituki valley. Our white car is looking rather beige now….

More clear water and awesome scenery on our cycle ride by Lake Wanaka along the Outlet Track. A few bruises but worth it!

On our journey to Lake Tekapo, we stop off at the lavender farm to stock up on muscle rub for our feet! Much needed after all that tramping!

So, with fond memories, we leave Wanaka behind and head for Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook….and leave you with a thought from the back of a car…..

Mike and Kath x