Oh Wanaka

We made our way to Queenstown to check out what all of the hype is about. It does indeed seem to live up to its reputation as the adrenaline-pumping centre of the south island (bungee-jumping, sky-diving, jetboating...). For us, that was about it. Aside from a hike up the Skyline Gondola with the side-attraction of watching crazy people whizz down some ridiculous downhill mountain bike runs (eat your heart out Chris Bradley!), Queenstown was a fairly quick stopover for us.

Passing through the "fruit basket" heartland of the south (the roadside fruits are pretty pricey as well, we discovered...) and our first vineyard country, we made our way to Wanaka.

We LOVE Wanaka. It too has lived up to the hype we've heard about- as the opposite to Queenstown- and then some. Top 5 reasons we like Wanaka better than Queenstown:
1) nicer landscapes with higher mountains, Mt Aspiring glacier, and a big beautiful (and icy cold) lake at the foot of town
2) way more sleepy and laid back vibe
3) Holly's Backpacker Hostel
4) most local bars close by 10pm, even on Saturday nights...hilarious
5) in winter, glacier peak snowboarding/skiing is right in your backyard
If we moved to NZ, we'd head back to Wanaka :)

We did a big day hike to Roys Peak (1581m) that took us up 1200m of altitude gain along mountain grazing sheep herds to a 360 degree lookout of Wanaka. Couldn't have been a more perfect day with cloudless skies and low winds (the hike leaves you fully exposed to the elements). When we make it back to the car 6.5hrs later, we were completely done in. [That's what 2 months of more eating that walking through Asia will get you!]. We decided to stay on an extra day at the hostel to relax, refuel and take in a free afternoon wine-tasting at Rippon Vineyards overlooking the lake before we left Wanaka. Our hostel, Holly's Backpacker, has also been our favourite to date (followed closely by Elm Lodge in Dunedin). 5 Wintette-star rating for Holly's: small cozy home, full of friendly people...and it's in "central" Wanaka which is to say 2 blocks from anything in any direction.

After Wanaka, we headed up the west coast. Stops included the Fox Glacier (complete with backhoes & dumptrucks quarrying the river bed- yuck!), Franz Josef Glaciers, the town of Hokitita to check out the many jade carvers and an overnight in Punakaiki to see the "Pancake Rocks" and stroll the beach in front of the hostel. The next morning we make it to Nelson Lakes National Park for lunch and a walk around the waterfront before heading on to our destination for this leg- Nelson.

Nelson is a lot bigger than we expected, but still quaint enough. The hostel we're in (Abel Tasman Backpackers) is also pretty fantastic with extra points for some mean steamed chocolate pudding & icecream served daily at 8pm! We'll check out the Nelson Saturday market (tomorrow morning) before leaving for a couple of days of paddling and hiking in Abel Tasman National Park. We've heard great things about this park....