Wanaka

Today we woke up at our apartment in Wanaka and cooked eggs, onions and cheese on toast with orange slices in our little kitchen. It's great to be able to buy groceries and cook the stuff we like to eat - especially since there are so many new and different things in the store! Peppers are called capsicums, there are all sorts of new candy bars we don't have in the U.S., and candy in general is actually called "lollys" or "sweets".

Wanaka is beautiful with all the fall foliage, tall trees, and pretty lake that changes colors depending on the clouds.


We walked from our apartment to the DOC center that has information about all the different walks and parks in the area. We then walked to the start of the Mt. Iron track, which was a hike up the mountain and back down (about an hour and half). The trail was very pretty, and quite steep in places.


The summit gave us views of Lake Wanaka and the town, and also Lake Hawea which is a little bit past the town.

Once back down at street level, we were hungry, so ventured into town for a bite to eat at Tango Cafe. We then walked back through town, along the lake on what is known as Waterfall Creek track. This area had so many pretty trees and piles of leaves on the ground that crunched under our feet. We tried to find Rippon Vineyard, but it must be closed for the season, because we couldn't find the tasting room. After that we made our way back to the apartment to rest (we'd been walking around Wanaka for about 6 hours!)

Tonight we made a trip out the store again for some dinner ingredients, and plan to cook dinner, sit in front of the fire, and maybe venture out to the hot tub for a soak.