Breakfast this morning was a simple one, toast, fruit and yoghurt. Actually it’s good to have a break from the big hotel breakfasts every now and then , I’m sure my waistline thinks so! There had been rain overnight and the clouds hing low over the mountains when we woke but they cleared to a lovely sunny sky by the time we left the motel. Our first plan was to see #That Wanaka Tree… Dennis Radermacher, a photographer from Christchurch, took a photo of the tree on a misty June day. That photograph went on to win Dennis the 2014 New Zealand Geographic photograph of the year. From that auspicious debut, the tree became somewhat of a social media celebrity. Now people come from far and wide to try and capture the perfect shot of #thatwānakatree. Recently it has lost one of it’s outlying branches so it doesn’t have quite the same perfect shape as previously, however that doesn’t matter to the fans! There was a small crowd down on the lakesure all trying to get their shots.
There was no wind and the lake water was glassy, which should have meant perfect reflections… however for some reason a few people in the crowd thought that it was fun to skip stones across the water to the tree, so my reflection shots are less than perfect ( grumble, grumble!) . Anyway, here’s a couple of pics for your enjoyment.
The park along the lakefront is lovely and there were plenty of people enjoying a walk along it. We came across a sculpture… but it had no descriptive label so I can’t tell you anything about it!
We drove out along the southern edge of the lake towards Mt Aspiring National Park. It was such a pretty drive.
I’d planned for us to do a short walk here called the Diamond Lake walk. It involves a steady climb and a walk around the Diamond Lake. We set off and were a little along the way when I realised I’d forgotten to change into my hiking shoes, I only had my joggers on. This was a pity because once we were up near the lake the ground became so boggy and wet that there was no way I could continue without getting soaked feet… so we walked back again!
As we’d been waking back down the hill we had seen a large flock of sheep being mustered in the distance. As we drove a little further up into the park, enjoying the view, we turned a corner and found ourselves confronted with the flock – all over the road. So we sat and waited for them to pass and received a wave from the farmer as she drove past behind them.
The drive continued to be really lovely but we stopped and turned around just after we passed the entrance to the Treble Cone Ski Field road. As we drove back we had a good view of Mt Aspiring across the lake and passed yet another vineyard.
The scenic driving continued as we headed up to the Cardrona Valley. The road here is the shortest route to Queenstown from Wanaka but we stopped about half way along to see the Bradrona Bra Fence. The Bra Fence began at some point between Christmas 1998 and New Year 1999, when four bras were attached to the wire fence alongside the road. The original reason for the bras being attached to the fence is unknown. The number of bras grew and the fence went through a period of being stripped of it’s bras ( by those who thought it was an embarrassing eyesore) and growing to feature up to 800 bras ( by those who thought it was a fun tourist draw). Eventually a local farmer offered to host the fence on his own land and there it now stays as a fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Foundation NZ. It’s certainly not the most common sort of thing you see!
A minute down the road we also stopped at the Cardrona Hotel which is considered one of NZ’s oldest and most iconic hotels and is rumoured to be the most photographed building in New Zealand! We were a bit early for lunch but we had a browse in the shop and I picked up a little something.
The wind has been picking up all morning but it’s interesting how you could still find sheltered spots here and there. Returning back into town we drove around to Ely Reserve which has a boat ramp and must be a very popular spot for boaties in summer time, judging by the huge ( and currently empty) boat trailer parking area. You were protected from the wind here on the “town side” of the peninsula.
I was getting peckish so we parked at the lakefront and walked up to a little bakery that Neil had noticed yesterday. The pie selection was extensive! I had Steak and Mushroom and Neil had Chicken, Leek and Bacon. Both were delicious, they really do know their pie-craft in New Zealand. I’ve eaten more pies and sausage rolls in the last few weeks than I have in years! I should also say that this litle cafe also turned out a reasonable coffee 🙂
Back at the hotel we settled for a quiet couple of hours to do laundry and to blog.
By 5pm we were finished blogging and folding laundry! So we sat on our verandah again with the last of our cheese and crackers. The weather is definitely a little warmer today, Neil wasn’t even wearing a jacket!
At 6 ish we walked down the road to find something for dinner. We didn’t know what to expect as the NZ school holidays started this weekend, but it’s a Sunday today so as we were walking down we definitely felt it was quieter than yesterday. Sure enough, when we reached the Kai Whakapai Eatery & Craft Beer Bar ( which occupies the prime spot on the lakefront) we had no trouble finding a table. We both chose from their specials menu, a really tasty Asian Pork belly dish. Other than the specials they really stick with burgers and pizzas. They have 12 rotating taps of local craft beer so Neil was happy and I had a lovely Amisfield Sauvignon Blanc ( Queenstown) so we were both drinking local.
After dinner we were amazed at how much the wind had dropped so we walked over the road to take a farewell picture of the lake.
We went back to the hotel, only to discover that I’d left my scarf at the restaurant! Fortunately, it was only a short walk back to retreive it. We’ve been rewarded by some lovely sunset views from our motel.
I have enjoyed Wanaka, to me it’s so much more appealing than Queenstown. The weather report tomorrow isn’t great so I’m afraid our drive up to Franz Josef will be soggy, but we’ve had a lovely sunny day here today so I can’t really complain!