Edge Suites Wanaka

Wanaka is a beautiful town, with a huge lake that makes for impressive photographs. The town was quite good, with a number of surf/ski shops that kept us busy for a while.<br><br>We were staying in a lovely YHA hostel and for our first night were their only residents. It was so good, luckily they had a cosy lounge area with a wood burner, so for most of our stay we ...

... a wee lie in. When I did surface, the views were special as snow had fallen - there was a definite wintery feel outside, but the hostel had the wood-burner going so it was super toasty inside. I discovered a short walk around the lake so after lunch I headed off, joined by Sophie, a Canadian in my room who had just come back from flying a helicopter, so was on a bit of a high. We headed off round the lake and 25 minutes or so in found the ...

... a couple of beefy mountain bikes from the hostel and explore the lake shores in both directions over the two days that we are here. The views are great and we both remember how much we love cycling. I think back to my bike that faithfully took me to work last year which is probably, as we speak, rusting away. We get picked up by the same lady (Naked Bus) who drove us on another journey ...

... look like a giant then in the other corner you look like a tiny person! Its so much fun, we tried to film it but it doesnt come out too well, but you can get the gist! Then we hit the maze........well needless to say with Steve being a man and me having serious issues with my left and right, getting our before dinner time didnt seem like a promising prospect! But we decided to follow some kids who were well keen and it ...

... a lot, or to go someplace else for a week. We decided to finish the South Island in a few more days and head to the North Island for one week. So, we are now all booked for Feb 4-11, up north. The rest of the days we have down south we'll use to see Mt. Cook, which is the highest mountain/glacier here.

Amazing, life affirming, better than sex, glorious, sickening, wonderful skydive. Thanks for the 30th Birthday present Mum and Jas. I've got a brilliant DVD of it. Won't forget this one! For all those worried, the "better-than-sex" comment was just an expression of how great it was.

... br><br>The view from our picnic spot was incredible, I can't think of many better spots that I've had lunch before, even on this trip.<br><br> <br><br>With some much-needed energy inside us we pushed upwards ...

... which included a hologram room with some excellent holograms of various size and complexity. <br><br>Next we walked around the wall of faces, which was a bit spooky, it was called something funky like The Hall of Following Faces or ...

... walks as they all involve river crossings which were too high to be safe - even with my new technique of walking straight through and spending the rest of the day in soggy boots. This is how the Kiwis do it, after all.<br><br>So it was with some relief that we moved on to the end of the road at Karamea, in a little world of its own over twisty mountain roads and with its own sunny if humid climate. The comfortable hostel is called 'Rongo' (Maori for peace) and while dreadlocks and rainbow ...

... in a highly comical fashion.Then it was on to Wanaka over the Haast pass, via lakes, Tasman sea overlooks, tiny settlements and a stupendously scenic run alongside deep blue Lake Wanaka. The 300 km trip takes about 6 hours plus stops; no motorways here!<br><br>During our week or so at Wanaka we have been walking (including a 7 hour return up and down Mount Roy; 16 km along and 1100 metres up, and down - we ache today!). We also had ...