New Zealand
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The word for the day is "lupine". We rose
early and headed to Wanaka, a smaller version of Queenstown.
It sits on the shore of the crystal blue Lake Wanaka
overlooking the snow capped mountains of the Southern Alps.
Our drive took us past many lovely lakes along
highways
lined with mountain lupine. They added amazing color to the
varied green hillsides. One of the most beautiful sights we
have ever seen was of a stream filled with these lovely
flowers.
Once in Wanaka we registered at another Top 10 but couldn't
get into the room until 1 pm so we worked on homework, sent
e-mails and got groceries. After getting settled in our room,
we went to Puzzling World where there is the Leaning Tower of
Wanaka. We spent a couple hours touring a great maze and
illusions museum. Everyone enjoyed this, especially when we
finally got out of the maze. It took us only 20 minutes to
find all four corners in the maze and then another 40 to find
our way out.
We then hiked along Lake Wanaka on the suburban streets so AD
could ride his scooter. They have some gorgeous homes with
fantastic view of the lake. When we returned to the room AD
went to the playground and jumped on the trampoline. We were
disappointed that the pool is closed, but it is really too
cold here for swimming (60 degrees).
First
thing in the morning, we drove up toward Mt. Aspiring. There
is a 51 km drive along mountain rivers to the trail heads. The
valleys floors is all grazing land for sheep, cattle and deer.
Raising deer has become a big part of many farms. They not
only sell the meat but the antler velvet. After the road
turned to gravel we found cattle stops (grates in road to stop
livestock from leaving). We were now driving through the
pastures basically. Many waterfalls spill down from
the
mountainsides. Those streams just cross the road and we had to
ford them. I had been warned to not be afraid of their depth.
In the afternoon, we went into Wanaka and
rented a two man kayak. DW and AD both want to buy one when we
return home. The sky was brilliant blue and slight winds. This
made us feel brave enough to try swimming. I was only able to
get into my waist.
The
stones on the beach are very unique. They all appear to be
fools gold. I'm never seen such interesting rocks. Flecks of
the stone make up the sand and they shimmer in the water as
you walk disturbing the bottom. There was a gold rush in this
area of NZ in the last half of the 1800's.
After an attempt to take one of the mountain tramping near town, we settled on some flat ground walking. None of us are fond of uphill hiking. The pool was opened today. AD had to try it out. There's a nice triple land slide. It was so late in the day that the sun was over the mountains. The temperatures drop quickly without the sun.
Wanaka built a wonderful millennium project. Following a section of the beach is a kilometer long pathway. On one side of the asphalt walk are square terracotta tiles. The 2000 tiles record important events in history starting of course with Christ's birth. Lots of tiles are referenced to England of course, but they note Chinese dynasties, Mohammad's birth, the rise and fall of important empires. This is one of the best millennium projects I have found.
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