Wanaka is a small town on the shores of Lake
Wanaka, where we spent a few days catching up on laundry, blog posts, planning
and relaxing in the sun by the lake. It has a buzz about the place, popular
with backpackers, adventurers and thrill seekers. There's plenty to keep you
entertained from trekking, climbing, canyoning, kayaking to paragliding,
skydiving and much much more. Our first sporting choice was.... Crazy Golf.
Here we were reunited with another Borneo
buddy Jon and his housemate Tim who came over to Wanaka to enjoy a day in this
amazing place. We spent the morning bouldering just outside the town, followed
by a spot of canyoning and then lunch by the lake with a bit of paddle boarding
thrown in for good measure!
In the afternoon Jon drove us back over to
his home in Queenstown via a fantastic pub called the Cardrona Hotel at the
site of a former gold rush encampment, established in 1863. Queenstown is a
slightly larger and busier sister of Wanaka about an hour over the mountains.
This time of year it's rammed with tourists from all over the world,
particularly China, who flocked to New Zealand in their millions as it was
Chinese New Year.
Back at Jon's
we caught up with his partner Fede, who we had also met in Borneo. They made us
feel very welcome and let us stay in their spare lounge, which had been
converted into a bouldering wall - wahoo a bit of training at last! The house
has stunning views over Lake Wakatipu and a mountain system called the
Remarkables.
Tim just getting off the ground on nasty sharp schist
Jon showing how its done
Alternative entry at the start of the canyon
This one we went upstream first
A tad chilly without a wetsuit
Paddle board wars on Lake Wanaks
Sarah braving the chilly mountain waters
Handstand competition
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