The Cow

Well, the Cow is a pretty sweet place. No signs really, down a little alley:


Inside there is a large fireplace:


We had a large "Her Majesty's Delight":


And it delighted! We weren't able to finish it all so had to have some for 'take away' (a.k.a. to go). Tomorrow's breakfast is going to be interesting...

Rocky Mountain Track

This morning we got out of bed somewhat early and headed down to the Diamond Lake / Rocky Mountain Track. It's about 15 kilometers outside of Wanaka, and since popular opinion seemed to think it was going to rain later in the day, we wanted to get a tramp (hike) done early.

I'm getting used to driving on the left side of the road, but one thing I'm not quite used to yet is the lack of cars on the roads. This morning when we headed out I think we saw about 5 other cars the whole way there. Definitely a big change from San Diego.

After parking, it's a 10 minute walk to Diamond Lake:


Then the trail takes an upwards slant, going through spots of heavily enclosed switchbacks.


Halfway up is the Lake Wanaka lookout, with panoramic views of the lake, Mount Aspiring, and other local features, but due to the cloudy weather we couldn't see everything.


From there, we continued up the trail to the top of Rocky Mountain. The path was pretty difficult at times (we don't have any good pictures of those parts - we were concerned with just not falling over the side), with steep and muddy switchbacks - the trail was very narrow and when you looked down it was a long way to the bottom. However, we didn't fall, and ended up taking the easier way down :).


Afterwards we made lunch at home then went to see the Lime Tree Lodge, a property that Dana's company works with. Then we hit up the Wanaka Beerworks Brewery for a tasting. After that we headed back into town for a latte and to walk around a little.


Tonight we're going to 'The Cow', a local pizza place that Sally from the Lime Tree Lodge recommended. We peeked in this afternoon and saw a roaring fire and a cozy atmosphere. We may have more to report on this later. :)

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.

Dinner at Home

We went to New World supermarket upon arrival in Wanaka today and stocked up on a few essentials, plus some dinner ingredients since we have a kitchen in our apartment, and it's been too long since we tasted the sweetness of brussels sprouts. Tonight's dinner is pictured below - lamb burgers (with red onion and herbs), brussels sprouts, and herbed bread. More on the awesome apartment later...