Wanaka Bakpaka

Two nights in Wanaka staying in a nice backpackers right near the lake. Tuesday 12th February: Arrived in Wanaka at about 2.30pm after a bus journey filled with stops to look at scenery or for people to have coffee. Became friends with a girl called Maria, from Argentina, who had actually been in our dorm in Fox Glacier, as we all walked up to the same hostel. Wanaka Backpaka is a tiny bit out of town but has a great view of Lake Wanaka, huge lake! We ended up in a room with only one other pe...

Weil ich ja schon beschlossen hatte, meinen Skydive in Wanaka (angeblich das schoenste Panorama der Welt) zu machen, hab ich das natuerlich auch zeitig vorgebucht und war ja auch schon ein bisschen aufgeregt. Wanaka is auch wirklich ein richtig schoener Ort. Am Morgen meines Skydives war es allerdings so windig, dass ich echt schon dachte, der muss verschoben werden. Mir wurde dann gesagt, dass ich trotdem kommen soll und dann wird halt geguckt, wie der Wind grad is. Kristin musste mich dann ...

... darf ich Vorstellen: meine neue Wahlheimat fuer die naechsten 4 bis 6 Wochen is das wunderschoene Wanaka! Wanaka liegt an einem 42 km langem Gletschersee des Aspiring Nationalparks. Der Mt Aspiring (uebrigens auch sehr schoen) is auch nicht weit weg. Ach ja, is recht suedlich auf der Suedinsel. Sonst gibts hier eigentlich auch nicht viel, einfach ein herrlicher Ort zum abschimmeln. Falls irgendwer das Beduerfnis haben sollte, mir irgendwelche Sachen (wie zB Postkarten) zukommen zu lassen,...

So langsam geht meine Zeit hier in Wanaka zu ende. Denke, dass ich uebernaechsten Donnerstag weiter reisen werde... auch wenn ich jetzt schon ein bisschen traurig bin, Wanaka zu verlassen... ich koennte auch noch hier bleiben, aber ich habe ja doch noch ein paar Dinge, hier in Neuseeland, auf meiner Liste, die unbedingt gemacht werden muessen. Ansonsten habe ich jetzt meinen Rueckflug umgebucht: ich werde am 13.05. nach Sydney fliegen, mir dort die Stadt bis zum 18.05. angucken (gucken ob die...

Tuesday 12th February We awoke to our first view of blue skies in Fox, so I was very jealous of all the people who'll be heli-hiking today! Our bus journey took about 6 hours but that was largely due to the ridiculous number of stops along the way. It did provide us with some great photo opportunities though. As we arrived in Wanaka the view was like nothing I've ever seen before, and I can see why it was Jill's favourite place when she came to New Zealand. Our hostel, Wanaka Bakpaka, has a h...

After a relaxing night we saunterned into Queenstown bright and early
for a MASSIVE breakfast at VuDu and then to check in for our jet boat
and heli rides.

Unfortunately due to the weather Heli's weren't
operating up to the remarkables today so we managed to check in for a
wet Jetboat ride that afternoon but had to cancel the helicopter ride
to try and take another time.

The jetboat ride was pretty mad, although a little painful due to the fact it was raining.
...

It's a 3rd night in the van - it's not so bad really, but maybe I'm biased because I know we've got a double bed in the Wanaka Bakpaka tonight! A peaceful night, never cold, and certainly quiet. One girl even slept out under the trees just beside our van. Woke around 8.30 to a beautiful sunny day. Blue skies, fluffy white clouds - so nice again. Drove 54 kms to Raspberry Creek - 20 kms on tarmac and the final 30+ on juddering graded roads - so reminiscent of Oman. We're glad it's not our van ...

Wanaka was a disappointment, although I wasn't expecting anything amazing. The town itself was all right, and in fact had some great views of the mountains over the lake it borders, but several things left my experience there wanting. It did, however, signal a new stage in my New Zealand travels.

When we first arrived it was 7:30 p.m. and dark, and we started looking for a hostel. A snowboarding festival had just ended (the one Philipp went to), so we thought there would be some space,...

Today mostly a travel day. We had a six hour drive from Christchurch to Wanaka. We saw awesome scenery along the way including plenty of flowers along the road and beautiful blue mountain lakes. On arrival in Wanaka we checked into Wanaka Bakpaka (our hostel) and got some grub. Wanaka is a very charming town located on Lake Wanaka. At once I felt at home. Later we retired to the hostel for a relaxing evening. Its currently ten pm and its not dark yet!

Hello, Today was pretty fun and challenging. We all started out mornings with omelets, french toast, scrambled eggs, and burritos-all made by our participants. Shortly after we met up with Jerry and Anetia, our climbing guides, who led us around the Southern sides of Lake Wanaka to Hospital Flats. The drive was very beautiful with lots of sheep and cows. Hugo, like always, wanted to stop at every scenic look-out but Jeff said "No!!!" We saw the other side of the lake which is surrounded by mo...