Wanderlust in Wanaka

The weather today was just perfect for hiking: the sun was covered by a layer of clouds and temperatures did not rise above 20 degrees Celsius.

Nevertheless, I applied a thick layer of sunscreen because yesterday I got sunburns on my arms, face, head, and legs (through the leggings!). This New Zealand sun...

My first short (bathroom) stop was at Puzzling World. It's an Adventure Park with a maze and lots of optical illusions. You have to pay admission, but you can also have fun from the outside.
Since the weather is supposed to be bad tomorrow (rain, how I missed it), I might even go there.

But then it was time for real hiking again - Mount Iron was on the list. The mountain rises 550m above sea level and is located quite centrally in Wanaka. The ascent took half an hour (my legs were still a bit shaky from yesterday) and the view from the summit was good. Nothing more, though, because I had a view from Roy's Peak yesterday with clear skies, but without that prior knowledge, it would have been spectacular.

Next, I continued along the road to Albert Town, a small suburb of Wanaka. Many hiking trails start there along the Clutha or Bawea Rivers.

I chose the latter first, but it was a total disappointment: the path did not follow the river, but went through wetlands, which was just boring. After 20 minutes, I turned back, I didn't have to put up with that, especially since my feet and legs were really hurting.

And I knew I had to walk almost 15km back to Wanaka, which is already a distance.
But the path was flat and followed the Clutha River, and there were some beautiful views of the river and the mountains.

In total, I walked about 6.5 hours and almost 30km today, and then I had enough. By now, I was limping more than walking, so I just sat in the library and then in the hostel.
I also completed all the nearby hiking trails in Wanaka. All the others that interest me are so far away that I would have to hitchhike.
However, I have to wait and see what the weather will be like tomorrow, because rain is actually forecasted. And to be honest, I wouldn't mind taking a day off from hiking, going to this Puzzle World thing, and maybe going to the cinema in the evening. They have freshly baked cookies there, and I can't get it out of my head...

If, contrary to expectations, the weather is sunny tomorrow, I will probably rent a bike from the hostel (30 bucks, which is okay for a whole day) and explore the surroundings even further.