We all collected outside. It turned out that someone had burnt some clothes in one of the rooms. The fire engines turned up pronto and we were back in our room within ten minutes. That’s some alarm call.
The sun was shining for a second day in a row. We had some breakfast and drove to the hiking area. We had opted to take on the Wanaka, Roy’s Peak track, taking us up 1578 meters, then on to Mount Alpha at 1630 meters along the Skyline Track. We started out on a steep track and were soon amongst the sheep and alpine tussock grass.
The entire track was steep, but every time we looked up the views over lake Wanaka and the valleys just got better and better. It took us 2 hours and 40 minutes to reach Roy’s peak. We chilled out for a while taking in the stunning, massive views. No matter how long we looked at the views, we still couldn’t take them all in. The waters in Lake Wanaka were amazing.
After a wee rest and a bite to eat, we set off for Mount Alpha. We were not expecting such a hard hike. We ended up walking down steep grass lands for about half an hour before taking on some the steepest dusty rock tracks we have ever seem. At times we were on all fours, pulling ourselves up rocky outcrops. We reached the top of Mount Alpha, absolutely knackered. The views were, as ever, breathtaking!
We rested for a while before beginning the journey back to the car. On the way back, John invented a new way of walking down steep tracks. He has called it micro stepping! You take lots of very small steps, making sure you don’t go to fast. It seemed to work, helping you to grip and control your decent on steep surfaces. Fiona discovered that singing Chinese songs as you stepped also helped! We found the song “I am Chinese if you please” was particularly good.
Almost three hours later we arrived back at the car park. We had started at 9.30am and finished at 4.45pm. What a hike. We had met some others on the way, including a German chap and three Israeli guy, everyone agreed, this place is wonderful, the views unbeatable and the mountain air and lakes a joy to be in.
We have fallen in love with Wanaka, so much so that John has written a short Poem about the place:
Ode to Wanaka
If your travelling in New Zealand,
And you like to play the harmonica,
Do yourself a favor,
Visit Wanaka!
for more infor about Wanaka, see: www.lakewanaka.co.nz
We jumped in the car and drove for an hour and a half to Alexandra, not far from Queenstown. When we arrived the temperature was twenty nine degrees Celsius. Our Motel was nice enough, but Alexandra is not as picturesque as Wanaka, so we decided to only stay here one night and to return to Wanaka tomorrow evening, after our days cycling on the Otaga Central Rail Trail.
After a spot of clothes washing and a well needed shower, Fiona made a great Spaghetti Carbonara, which we washed down with a glass of wine. By 8.30 the days walking had taken its toll and we collapsed into bed and zonked out!
