Wonders of Wanaka ~ Derek's Travels

Following my adventure filled days in Queenstown, I had hoped to get out of town mid-afternoon, giving me time to find an adequate place to park the van and stay for the night along some abandoned road, but that didn't quite happen. I lingered around the town much longer than expected, so it was already dark by the time I went back to the van, ready to leave town. Not knowing where I'd go, I headed East of out of town along the main road, but just before getting out of the little city, I remembered seeing a few campervans the night before right along the road, and I saw one or two of them in the same spot, so I decided that I'd join in and hope for the best. Basically, it was a wide part of the main road, along the lakefront, in front of one of the last hotels in town, so I just parked along the curb, closed the curtains around me and hoped that each and every passing set of headlights was not a city official telling me that I couldn't sleep there. A few cars did pull up behind me for long periods of time, as I tried to peek through the window to assess the situation, though I couldn't see much other than two bright headlights. I didn't get the best or most relaxing sleep, but the spot served its purpose, and I woke up at sunrise, took a few pictures, put on some clothes (maybe those last two were done in opposite order), then went on my way.

My next stop was a small town just over a scenic mountain pass called Wanaka. Based on what I'd read, it was supposed to be a similarly pretty mountain town wrapped around a lake, yet without all of the hype and craze of Queenstown. In my mind, I knew I'd like the city before even seeing it, and the first impression lived up to the expectations. As the main road split at the head of the lake, I headed towards the town centre and saw an appealing exhibit along the side of the road and walkway hugging the lakefront. Every twenty feet, there is a large placard, approx 5 feet tall by 3 feet wide, with beautiful aerial images of different countries of the world, along with facts and locations about the pictures and general facts about pollution, over-population, deforestation, etc. These images are taken from the Earth From Above book, and there are about 100 of them displayed along the side of the road. Also along the walkway is a string of 2000 tiles, each one representing a year from 0 to 2000 AD, with short facts about any major event during that year printed on the appropriate tile, apparently as a part of the millennium project in this city. The rest of the city wasn't quite as impressive, but it is a great, laid back place - a nice contrast to Queenstown.

I spent most of the day walking around the stores and cafes of the city, and then I found a nice motor camp along the lake just outside of town. Based on a nondescript map I had, I decided to head back to the other side of Mt. Aspiring National Park, as I had read about another great one day trek towards the Rob Roy Glacier. The main road quickly disappeared, and I was soon on a gravel road, meandering through cattle and sheep farms, flanked by large mountains covered in yellow and green grasses on both sides, along with a light blue river running alongside the road. Blanco (the van) and I made a few shallow river crossings without too much trouble, and about an hour down the gravel road, we found the signpost for Blueberry Creek and the Rob Roy glacier walk. The walk first passed through another field of humongous cattle which didn't seem to mind people, luckily, since I had to walk right between a few of them, and they looked as if they could eat me in one bite if they wanted. I pretended to be a vegetarian, and I think they sensed it, so they let me pass. Soon after, I crossed a swinging bridge over the main river (like the one from Indiana Jones, but without the alligators, and not nearly as high, and a little safer, and without people chasing me), and I was into the beech forest that covers nearly all of the park.

The heavily wooded trail ascends the narrow glacial valley, with a few creek crossings and rockfall areas where you are told not to stop and look around. Along the river, huge boulders line the edges and alter its path, creating some small waterfalls and a pleasant sound for the walk. After passing through the final grove of beech trees and ferns, the vegetation suddenly changes to low-lying bushes, revealing a huge granite cliff face with a spectacular single stream of water flowing over its steep edge. A few minutes beyond this cliff, the entire Rob Roy glacier comes into view, revealing a rock amphitheater covering one side of the mountain. The top is covered in the massive glacier, and the lower half is rock with channels carved by the waterfalls from the melting water streaming down the mountain. After staring in awe for quite a while, I counted at least 14 large waterfalls down the side of the rock face. Soon after, a few thundering cracks drew our attention to the lower tip of the glacier where a large chunk of ice and resulting debris came tumbling down the mountain, looking as though it were in slow motion as the waterfalls gushed, the rocks spun and leaped down the wall, and the snow fell from one precipice to another. Fortunately, we were viewing this all from the other side of the steep valley, so we weren't in any danger.

I admired the incredible site for about an hour and a half before forcing myself to move on and return to the car, so that I could get back to town before the sun set. The descent was much easier, and the thick vegetation on the way down was just as pleasant. Leaving the park, I encountered many more cows and a few large flocks of sheep. At one point, a farmer was moving his entire flock, so I stopped Blanco, and we observed the one to two thousand sheep that passed by. Some ran at first, but they soon realized I wasn't going to hit them, so they became more comfortable and a few of the older ones that appeared to have either vision problems or delusions of invincibility came straight into the van before turning away at the very last second, realizing that I wasn't budging. The dramatic scenery and isolation of the Southern Alps in this area was exactly what I had hoped to find on my trip to New Zealand, so I was quite content with my day in the woods, as I returned to Wanaka for another peaceful night.

Today I was planning to drive towards the center of the island to get a view of Mt. Cook, but there is a large storm coming in that has completely covered the mountain, so I think I may just hang out here for another day or two, enjoying the tranquility. I did a quick two hour hike to the top of the mountain overlooking the city and adjoining lakes this morning, preceded by a visit to the Puzzling World, an eclectic sort of amusement park at the edge of town. Built in 1973 and continually updated, it contains rooms of illusions, holograms, tricks, and a huge human maze. One of the circular rooms has the entire wall covered in faces of Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Einstein, and others that follow you around the room as you move side to side, up and down. Another room is built at a 15 degree slant, driving people crazy and featuring a few exhibits that make it look like water is flowing uphill or a chair is sliding uphill. The maze was also quite interesting, as you had to find each of the towers in the four corners, then find your way back to the finish. They say that most people walk in between 2 and 3 miles during the experience, and it took me about 30-35 minutes to get through, so that's probably about right. There's also a leaning clock tower outside built at a 53 degree angle (the leaning tower of Pisa is 6 degrees), along with a few other odd buildings. Depending on what the weather looks like, I may stay another day or two here, which wouldn't be a problem with me. In fact, they actually have a Mexican restaurant here, so I may splurge tonight. I've been craving it since I left...