This is the town that we were in last year when the famous Wanaka Challenge was being held. We actually became one of the few people to get lost in this little town when we were deviated away from the main street to avoid the finish of the marathon. Ts event is on again in another couple of weeks so this time we can find our way around with much less difficulty.
It’s a vibrant town on the southern edge of Lake Wanaka. Our day was made very pleasant with a 26 degree day and bright sunshine. We read that it was quite cold at home with snow on the Alps, so that makes this place much more attractive.
Our day began with breakfast at a little cafe named Relishes, where we had eaten on a previous visit. From there, it was a visit to every shop in town. Somehow, Jill, Cathy and the girls actually managed to spend almost am hour in the newsagent! In the middle of this, I had to walk down to the parking area by the lake and move the car because our parking time was up.
We had more ice creams today at the Gelati shop. Audrey’s was strawberry and mine was ginger flavored. From there we split and went our separate ways. Chris, Cathy and the girls went off to visit Puzzle World which is a much more elaborate facility than the old Wanaka Maze as it was when it was first established.
Jill and I sent some time exploring. We found a road that went up the very scenic Motukituki Valley towards Mt Aspiring. It is obviously a great place for raising cattle and deer and it provided some splendid valley views. We travelled on a very rough corrugated road for about 20km, hoping to get a view of Mt Aspiring, but as the valley became more narrow, the view became more closed in. We turned around after a while and headed back to town.
Our last activity for the day was to visit a very well presented private museum at the airport with the name ‘War Birds Over Wanaka’. (Every April, there is an air show here of the same name. The first section of the museum has a display of about seven or eight aircraft, all of which at some time saw service in the RNZAF. In the second section there are a coupe of dozen beautifully presented old cars – mostly Fords and Packards. I had expected to perhaps see more English card such as Hillmans and Morris as these were the most prevalent cars I can remember seeing in NZ on my earlier trips. Perhaps the owner of the museum has a greater leaning towards American vehicles. Over all, it was well worthy the $15 Seniors admission fee.
