On the bus ride from Punakaiki to Wanaka we stopped to see Thunder Creek Falls and Lake Hawea.

Lake Hawea was beautiful, but just around the corner was Lake Wanaka and it was love at first sight!!! If I were to ever move to this side of the world, it would be to Wanaka.

Water sports, hiking, mountain climbing, skydiving in spring, summer and fall and skiing in the winter. I want to pick Wanaka up and drop it between Cape Cod and Boston and retire there.

I spent sunset down by the lake before heading back to the hostel to rest up for my morning hike.

I got up early the next morning to watch the Bruins shit themselves in the 3rd period of game 2. I headed out at 10:30 to go for my hike to the top of Roy’s Peak. The receptionist at the hostel told me it would take about 45 minutes to walk to the carpark where the track started. It ended up being 6 km and taking an hour and a half. I stopped for a few minutes to take pictures at the Rippon Vineyard on the lake and also spent some time with a couple relatives I met along the way.

It was noon by the time I got to the start of the summit trail and the hike was supposed to take 5-6 hrs. Plus I was going to have to walk about an hr and a half back to town. Time was going to be a factor unless I wanted to walk back to town in the dark. I got maybe 2/3 of the way up the mountain and decided it was time to turn back. I still go some great views, but there’s always a different feeling at the top.

I mentioned skydiving earlier. Well, I got up close and personal with some skydivers on my hike. I only got a picture of a guy in the 2nd grouping, but the first guy to go past me was about 2 feet off the ground and 10 feet away from me. I was facing the lake taking pictures when he flew on by and I was quite surprised by him dropping in on me.

Most of the Roys Peak track is on private farmland. There are about 4.5 million people in New Zealand and about 33 million sheep. This is the only picture of sheep I have taken the entire time I’ve been here.

I got back to town just before sunset and found a burger joint to go to for dinner. I ordered cajun fries and while eating them I did something that I am not proud of…….I dipped them in the homemade aoili that came with them. I’ve been trying to justify my actions by saying there was just so much cajun seasoning on them that I needed something to cut into the powdery texture. While this may be true, it does not excuse my sickening actions. What kind of monster have I become? There’s a fine line between dipping fries in mayo and becoming a serial killer. I can only hope it’s not too late for me to turn back. 

Fall has arrived in New Zealand and this seems like a beautiful spot to hide the bodies.