We found ourselves in a little alpine town, Wanaka, in a stunning mountain and lakeside setting. Many tourists come here for the beauty of the region and for exploring the Southern Alps.

Day 75, Tuesday, November 19: Lake Wanaka

Today was the day when our alternate plan for finishing our New Zealand adventure began.

Just four days ago, in Oamaru, we learned that we had to cancel the scenic train ride through the Southern Alps from Greymouth to Christchurch. There was a landslide, and there was no alternate way to drive to Greymouth.

Now, we were driving from Queenstown to Christchurch in two days, visiting two beautiful lakes along the way. The first was Lake Wanaka.

Before we left for Wanaka, we had a short hike on the Queenstown Hill Walkway. We hoped for many views of the town, but it was a hill dense with Douglas fir. We were basically in a forest. At least, we got a nice morning exercise.

Shortly before noon, we reached Cardrona, a great rest stop. During the late 1800’s Cardrona Valley gold rush, it was a busy, prosperous settlement. Today, it’s a quieter place, but the nicely restored historic Cardrona Hotel gives a glimpse into the past. It’s one of the oldest hotels in New Zealand, and one of the two remaining buildings from the gold rush era. It has charming hotel rooms, a restaurant, and a bar.

The Old School House nearby sells locally made gifts and art, and another small heritage building hosts a bakery.

Driving on winding mountain roads (a scenic drive indeed) we reached Wanaka an hour later.

Lake Wanaka is impressive and beautiful. It’s New Zealand’s fourth largest lake. Started walking around it, but it was incredibly windy. We tried the town itself, which was full of tourists. No empty table inside of any of the eateries. It didn’t appeal to us to eat outside in that wind, so we opted for finding a grocery store and buying food for sandwiches.

We checked into our accommodation, and spent our time relaxing there. It turned out that we had a fully equipped apartment with everything one might need even for cooking there. However, the tasty sandwiches we made were good enough for us.

We promised each other to go to the lake the next morning, hoping the severe winds would be gone.