Wanaka, Day 2: can you?

there must be worse ways
to kill an afternoon but
i can't think of one

the view from the traffic jam

Wanaka, Day 2: glaciers and sheep and carrot cake, oh my.

The plan was to get up early this morning and head to Rob Roy Glacier, since the weather was a little questionable. But I think the last week was catching up with me and instead of rushing out, I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and coffee and hit the road around 9am.

"The road" ended up being 50km of driving, 30km of which was on a gravel road and the last 10km of which involved fords (fortunately dry creek beds). Rappelling, rock climbing, treacherous/slippery/steep/alpine hikes, canyon swinging - whatever. That drive was probably the most stressful activity I would perform on this entire trip.

OK!

after 30km of gravel road, a warning

Finally headed out to the trail around 11am. It started steep and leveled off, all through a lovely beech forest with the river running constantly right next to the trail.

I want to live in a van...

And then suddenly Rob Roy Glacier was right there.

not a bad lunch spot

A few more switchbacks and I was a bit closer - but not too close. I ate my PB&J and marveled at the beauty around me, then headed slowly back just as the rain started. And then stopped and started and stopped and started and stopped.

looking back down the valley

The weather has been amazing this whole trip, and if the only bad day is Friday when I'm supposed to hike Tongariro Alpine Crossing, so be it. I cannot complain.

On the drive back I was treated to an unstaged sheep herding...

New Zealand traffic jam

...and a deer herding (complete with one lone confused sheep running alongside the deer).

just a cute sheepie, not related to the
aforementioned deer herding story

Back at the hostel I cleaned up and went for a coffee, which turned into a flat white and "famous" carrot cake at Ritual Cafe...

it REALLY IS THAT GOOD

... and then a few glasses of wine overlooking Lake Wanaka.

hey, it was happy hour and I was happy

I was in an amazing place, had seen some amazing things in/around this place, and the hostel and the hostel staff had found my iPod that I was sure was lost and gone forever. What was there not to be happy about? Other than the nearing end of my vacation, of course...

Wanaka, Day 1: OK, it was mostly an accidental misstep.

a brief thought of work
almost sent me off the edge
no more work thoughts please

Wanaka, Day 1: solo adventure, part I.

Got dropped off at the airport, said goodbye to our new friends...

and goodbye to Frank the tank! I will miss you, Frank,
and your never-ending fruit and snack basket

... and I picked up the rental car for my first solo left sided-drive up to Wanaka, which a coworker had recommended as being "more low key" than Queenstown. Turns out? Boy oh boy, was he right.

The drive was uneventful! Almost disappointing, the lack of solo left sided-driving drama!

um, both thankfully and disappointingly uneventful

the views were lovely though

I couldn't check in to the hostel (Purple Cow - two thumbs up!) until 2pm so I grabbed a flat white and, at the recommendation of one of the past week's tour guides, headed up to Diamond Lake Conservation Area.

There were three trail options - Rocky Mountain Summit Track, Lake Wanaka Lookout, and a circuit around the lake - and I took them all in willingly. The views were stunning and the sounds around the lake were serenity-inducing.

I sent this to a coworker saying "New Zealand is overrated"...
pretty sure he got the sarcasm

bunnies, it must be bunnies!

Afterward I showered, stocked up on two nights of dinner at the grocery store, had a glass of wine and headed three blocks down to the lake to enjoy the scenery with the ducks.

not a bad way to end the day

Tomorrow's adventure: Rob Roy Glacier. Tonight's adventure: surviving the Russian girl skyping next to me for an hour. Ah, youth!

Tui Extreme, Day 4: extreme indeed.

Slept like a rock last night. A ROCK. Slept with a bunch of random strangers, I didn't care. Slept on what was essentially a plywood board, I didn't care. Someone was snoring next to me, I didn't care.

Let me back up. I should explain the huts. (And by "explain" I mean: state what I know is true and include a lot of things in parentheses where I have no idea what I'm talking about. Consult the DOC web site if you decide to venture off to a hut in New Zealand.)

Siberia Valley hut

"Huts" are wonderful structures in the middle of nowhere that have running water (usually, I think?), pit toilets, fireplaces to dry your boots (sometimes?), kitchens (often?), and sleeping quarters which are essentially platform bunk beds where you lay your sleeping bag out. You can also pitch tents if it's too crowded or if you prefer to sleep under the stars. (They cost about $15-30 US per night for a bunk depending on which walk you're tramping; sometimes you can show up and sometimes you have to reserve a spot in advance.) They're maintained by very nice volunteers and often have puzzles, playing cards or board games if you're in need of mountain entertainment. One group of four at the Siberia Valley hut that night was completing a puzzle and commented how they would never, ever do a puzzle in real life - but out there it was really fun.

So that's the deal with the huts (as far as I understand them).

Anyway! Breakfast this morning involved yogurt with really excellent muesli, and then a 2.5 hour walk down to the jetboat launch. This was the same walk that the other half of the group did yesterday and I hoped they all enjoyed it as much as I did.

heeeeeere, hobbits...

The jetboat to Makarora was a bit of a jolt for me after the last 24 hours of serene wilderness, but I definitely enjoyed the ride.

adventure boat with a view

We ate lunch on the bus (chicken chutney brie sandwiches - yum!) and then got dropped off at Lake Hawea for our 25km bike ride to Lake Wanaka.

The views were amazing, for sure...

hawea river, part I

hawea river, part II

... but let the record show that I do not like bikes.

this sign finally made sense

my favorite part of the bike ride

Later that night in Queenstown, we enjoyed a really fine yet low-key dinner at Brazz and got some much needed rest. Including Abel Tasman I think I'd done 30km of tramping over the last six days, and then adding in the 25km bike ride? Zzzzzzzz...