- Planning and preparing for our epic vacation to New Zealand and the Maldives
- Flying to New Zealand via Honolulu, visiting Auckland and Devonport
- Waitomo Caves and Tongariro Alpine Crossing
- Taupo, Waikite Thermal Pools, to Christchurch
- Mt. Cook National Park
- AJ Hackett Kawarau Bungy Jump, K-Jet boating, hanging out in Queenstown
- Day 1 of Routeburn Track 3-day luxury guided walk
- Day 2 of Routeburn Track 3-day luxury guided walk
- Day 3 of Routeburn Track 3-day luxury guided walk
- Arrowtown, Wanaka, Mount Roy Track
- Franz Josef Glacier
- Tranz Alpine train Greymouth to Christchurch, then to Singapore
- From Singapore to Conrad Maldives Rangali Island
- Day 1 and 2 at the Conrad Maldives: beach villa, overwater spa, Atoll Market, snorkeling
- Day 3 at the Conrad Maldives: water villa, diving with manta rays, meeting new friends
- Day 4 and 5 at the Conrad Maldives: Vilu, Sunset Grill, reef diving
- Day 6 and 7 at the Conrad Maldives: whale sharks, Ithaa, snorkeling
- Returning from the Maldives via Singapore
- 10 hour layover in Seoul and landing safely in SFO
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Saturday morning, we checked out of our room and got a taxi ride to the Queenstown airport to pick up our rental car from Europcar. The taxi was included in our self-drive package from New Zealand Fine Touring. The driver helped us grab a cart for our luggage, making it strange not to tip as it is not done in New Zealand. We Americans have tipping so engrained in our culture.
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Wanaka was a town situated on the shores of a lake with the same name, pronounced "wa-na-ka" with no emphasis on any syllable. I believe we gave our Australian friends on the hike a silent chuckle when we told them our next destination was "wa-NA-ka" and they responded, "Oh...Wanaka!", but pronounced properly.
Wanaka was only an hour's drive from Queenstown, so we took a detour to visit Arrowtown, established during New Zealand's gold rush, almost around the same time as California.
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| downtown Arrowtown then (courtesy of arrowtown.com) |
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| downtown Arrowtown now |
I was hungry for some brunch, so we walked around looking for something to eat. We spotted diners sitting on a second story balcony tucked in between buildings so we headed there. The restaurant, The Chop Shop Food Merchants, turned out to be #3 ranked on Tripadvisor. The balcony was full so we ate inside. The food was really good and fresh, especially the Turkish poached eggs.
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After brunch, we walked over to the Arrowtown Chinese Settlement, now a historical area. The miners lived in small quarters built with whatever was available. The experience of the Chinese men who came to Arrowtown was very similar to those who went to California.
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| other structures built into the hill |
After our brief visit, we hopped back into the car and drove to Wanaka via the Crown Range Road, New Zealand's highest sealed road.
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Our home for the next two nights was at the Clearbrook Motel. It really was right beside a "clear brook"! We were lucky to get an upgrade to a 1-bedroom apartment on ground level right next to the gurgling water. The accommodations were very nice. We almost did laundry again back at Blue Peaks Lodge, but glad that we procrastinated as this apartment had a washer/dryer that didn't need tokens, and I was already carrying laundry detergent in my luggage.
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The motel was close to downtown Wanaka so we walked. Even though it was late in the season, there were still a few people willing to swim in the brisk waters.
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We stopped at Wanaka Speights Ale House across from the shore to have a beer and snacks.
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As we didn't have lunch, I was wanting something more substantial. Nothing on the bar menu sounded good, so we headed to one of the restaurants that I had researched earlier on Tripadvisor, Capriccio.
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| more Bluff oysters...almost as good as in Auckland |
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| beef carpaccio...mmm mmm good |
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| catch of the day |
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| green-lipped mussels, but not as good as in Taupo |
We passed on dessert as I had seen there was a gelateria called Black Peak Gelato right under the restaurant, but by the time we got there, they were closed. :( We ended up going to the grocery store in town and grabbing some local ice cream.
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The next day, we packed a lunch and drove to the trailhead to hike Roy's Peak Track (also called Mount Roy Track). I was not prepared for the constant steep climb and it was a hot day. I was practically stopping at every other switchback to catch my breath. Even playing a thumping tune in my head didn't make my feet move like they normally would. Lunch stop didn't help either; I was just plain exhausted and no amount of calories could fill my empty tank. We did not reach the peak; Kaleb made a decision before starting the hike that we would make it back to Wanaka in time to have gelato. (he knows it's always about the food with me!) That and my slow progress caused us to turn around about a couple of hours from the top (at my pace). I felt like a failure but Kaleb was such a good sport, telling me "Look how far we've gone!" and that he was proud of me. I'm sure that if I wasn't with him, he would have reached the peak, but I'm fortunate that he is more interested in hiking with me than be preoccupied with the finish line. What a great guy. :) Despite the failed attempt to ascend Mount Roy, we were treated to spectacular views of Lake Wanaka.
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| our car parked down there and we were only hiking for a few minutes |
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| the trail kept going up and up; my feet felt like they were at 45 degrees all the time |
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| beautiful lake and mountains |
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| the town of Wanaka in the background |
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| still had a long way to go, but had to turn back |
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| down was a lot easier! |
We did make it back in time for a refreshing treat at Black Peak Gelato. Yum!
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| flavors can change daily...we didn't see the peach that we saw last night through the window |
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| one of those cones is mine :) |
Ice cream was not substantial enough, so we tried one of the restaurants along the lakefront called Alivate as they had Bluff oysters on the menu.
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| Bluff oysters (yummy) and green-lipped mussels (ok) |
With the gelato still fresh in our memories, we ended up going back and getting a second helping to share!
Tummies satisfied, we walked along the lakeshore one more time before heading back to the motel.
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| pretty sunset from our patio |
In the next installment, we leave Wanaka and drive to Franz Josef Glacier village. Stay tuned!
