After leaving Aoraki / Mt. Cook, we headed south to Wanaka. The drive there, similar to the drive to Mt. Cook, is a lovely panorama most of the way. The Lindis Pass viewpoint also offered a nice place to stop, stretch our legs, and take in the view.
Wanaka is a pretty town along a lake of the same name. It was a fun place to spend a couple of days. We did a walk in the surrounding hills and had some tasty craft brews at the restaurants and bars downtown. This was also the site of our favorite accommodation of the South Island leg. The Wanaka Top 10 Holiday Park apartment we stayed in had all the amenities one could need to self-cater, along with a great view towards the lake.
We decided to do the Diamond Lake loop track and the trail up to the Lake Wanaka viewpoint because it was supposed to offer a great view with a not-too-long hike. Like all the other trails we’d been on in New Zealand, this one was well-maintained, and in the cool morning air was just enough uphill for us to feel like we’d done some exercise, but not too much!
After spending two nights at Wanaka we took the Crown Range Road to Arrowtown. This scenic road is the highest main road in New Zealand, and is not for the faint of heart.
Arrowtown is one of the little towns near Queenstown, and was a mining town during the gold rush. It still has a number of historic buildings, including small huts that Chinese immigrant miners lived it. This area also is known for its vineyards. When we arrived we couldn’t check in yet, so we went downtown to get lunch and see some of the sights. We decided to do part of the Bush Creek trail. It was a pretty walk along a small stream that meandered uphill. It was a hot day, and it felt good to be in the shade of the trees.
For our first full day in Arrowtown we decided to take a break from hiking and rent e-bikes. There are excellent bike trails from Arrowtown along the Arrow River to the Kawarau River, and then from there to the wineries of the Gibbston Valley. We spent a glorious day biking along the small Arrow River and the amazing Kawarau Gorge, stopping for a break at several of the wineries to eat and taste the wines. We ended up biking about 50 km over the course of 8 hours!
For our last full day in the South Island we’d booked a wine tour. We caught the minibus in Queenstown, and it took us for a full day of tasting at several of the other wineries we hadn’t done the day before. Everything was so delicious, and we had fun chatting with the other people on the tour. One woman told us she has a wine cellar in her house in Canada that will hold 1200 bottles! We couldn’t resist purchasing a couple of bottles to bring back to Jakarta.
After the day of touring and tasting, we looked around the Queenstown waterfront and got some dinner. We were delighted to find a place selling arepas! An unexpected treat for our last night in the South Island. The next morning we dropped off the car and flew north to Auckland. We spent one more night there at the Pullman at the airport and then it was back to Jakarta.
All in all, we had an amazing visit to New Zealand! For Angie it was a happy return to reconnect with the people and places she visited so long ago, and for both of us it was an exploration of new and delightful sights and flavors. What a trip! We are so thankful we got to go!
