Wanaka 🥾

Arriving in Wanaka was once again a moment of “it can’t just get any nicer”. But starting at the beginning. As soon as we left the area around Franz-Josef and drove over the Haast Pass, it felt like 1o degrees warmer again. So we decided we had to celebrate and go swimming. Since Wanaka is right on the lake and you also drive past a second one on the way there, there was a lot of choice where this celebration could take place. We stopped at Lake Hawea. The water was colder than expected but it was still good. When I arrived at the hostel in Wanaka, I immediately realized that I already knew half the people here because you just meet again and again while traveling in New Zealand. The choice isn't that big where you go. I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around town and enjoying a brownie in the sun on the shores of Lake Wanaka. Of course, the next day I also had the famous Roys Peak on my agenda. By hitchhiking I was able to get back to the starting point of the hike pretty quickly to get started. After 2 hours we arrived at the summit but it was a bit too touristy for me. So I decided to go one further summit to Mount Alpha to really have the incredible view just for myself. It was also simply breathtaking despite the not too nice weather. The wind was really quite strong! But then I didn't want to go back because parts of it were pretty steep. So I found a path that went towards the valley (that's what it looked like) and thought to myself that I could do it. It then turned out that it is a 30km long track and goes through the entire valley. It went over sheep pastures, cattle pastures, through streams and through really nice mud out of the valley. After 6 hours I arrived back in the valley. Then I just had to go back into town because the track ended somewhere between a large deer farm and nothing in sight. But another couple arrived at the same time as me and so we hitchhiked our way back to the city together. I rewarded myself with a large and really good ice cream in the city. Overjoyed and tired, I go to bed earlier. The next day we have to continue our journey again, but this time unfortunately by bus. ⛰️