Wanna Visit Wanaka (October 8-11)

Lake Wanaka

The weather had turned cloudy and rainy overnight. Friday began with no morning sun to motivate Susan to drag Mike out of bed, we slept in. A lot! With Susan still in recovery mode, and coming off a busy couple of days probably hiking a little too much in Aoraki, our spacious suite with a view at the Edgewater Resort was just what we needed.

Midday we managed to get out and drive the scenic and winding Crown Range Road, which is the highest main (or sealed) through road in New Zealand, reaching a summit of just under 1120 meters. It was a fun drive, even though the view was largely obscured by clouds. We also enjoyed our rainy windshield tour of the little town of Arrowtown.

Saturday afternoon the clouds were to lift, so we headed out around 11AM to drive the Mt Aspiring Road, do the first part of the Rob Roy track at the top, then drive up to Treble Cone on our return for more great views.  Our plan was thwarted by a damaged-beyond-repair tire, which Mike changed while Susan watched a lamb in its first minutes after being born. Because we planned to leave the next day we wanted to get the tire replaced quickly and were able to in Cromwell by the only shop we could find with after hours service. No local shops are regularly open Saturday afternoons, even in Queenstown.



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Returning from Cromwell, the weather had turned fine so we drove out to Diamond Lake for a hike. Susan, who was to keep her heart rate low for another few weeks, couldn't go much past Diamond Lake because the trail suddenly became a steep rocky scramble. Noting the Diamond Lake lookout towering above, she encouraged Mike to go on without her as far as he could before dark. While he enjoyed a beautiful evening sky overlooking Lake Wanaka, Susan did the level loop around Diamond Lake and heard strange noises which she later learned were Bittern booming.

Sunday brought no relief from the cold rainy weather, so we decided to get some relief to our achy muscles with the help of a massage therapist. If you're ever in the area, we highly recommend Marg at Massage in Wanaka. We noticed the forecast looked great for Fiordlands, so we made a plan to leave in the morning to take a Doubtful Sound overnight cruise, then stay in Te Anau a few nights to do whatever else we fancied in the area, with the Milford Sound Road topping the list.