This is me leaning at 15 degrees. OR AM I??
FEELING GO - WALKING IN WANAKA WONDERLAND
(REMEMBER: IF YOU'RE MENTIONED BY NAME ITS COS I LOVE YOU DEARLY. IF YOU'RE NOT, ITS ONLY TO PROTECT MYSELF IN THE LIBEL COURT)
The next stop for the Magic Bus was the futher south in the serene lakeside town of Wanaka, which apparently means home, or so I was told be the girl on prescription speed, but as always with these anecdotal appetisers, thats another story. Even if it isn't true it matters not: I really loved this tranquil little town, and after spending a few days here it really did feel like home.
STUART LANDSBOROUGH'S PUZZLING WORLD
Our first stop on the outskirts of Wanaka was Puzzling World, run by the entreprenuer and gentleman Stuart Landsborough. Its a quite unique attraction, stuffed full of puzzles, brain teasers and illusions. An example below.
This is me leaning at 15 degrees. OR AM I??
RODEO
You don't just get cowboys in America. It seems that they are found throughout the world, and many of them had drifted to Wananka by the Easter Weekend. Pete and me went along and watched men tie themselves to various large animals and time each other to see how long they could stay on. All day. I did note that the only reason the animals do seem to buck and kick is because they have their testicles strapped up uncomfortably tight. And is it any wonder?
Scene from The Wanaka Rodeo.
MT ROY
I sat at the hostel window every morning at breakfast time and would look across the lake to the Mt Roy on the far side. With only two days to go of my Wanaka stay, I decided that I was going to climb it. But no man walks alone, so I managed to find a few other folk who fancied the challenge. There was Pete, Rachel who was another Makarora casuality and a couple of Japanese guys, Eisaku and Satoshi. These two were very slow to climb but like lightening on the way down. The climb took four hours and due to the cold weather we could only manage a few minutes at the top before we had to descend to avoid freezing to death. Was it worth it?
You decide...
TOP: MOUNTAIN MEN: Eisaku, Pete, Me, Satoshi.
BOTTOM: The lovely Rachel, freezing her pretty little face off.
CANOE
With only one more day left in Wanaka, Pete and I decided to head to the water for a sunset paddle in a Canadian style canoe. We ended up chatting to a local photographer who told us that Wanaka was sadly going the way of Queenstown. I wasn't to understand what the guy meant for the next couple of days. But the man obviously knew good looks when he saw them and asked Pete and I to pose in our canoe for a couple of sunset action shots out on the lake. Despite paddling through treacherous rocks and nearly capsizing twice we managed to hold our smiles for the camera. the things we do for fame, eh?
Me and Pete and a canoe. This was NOT taken by a professional.