Sabine planned this, her birthday weekend, in Central Otago. It was just an overnight stay for tonight, but it meant no rushing back home today so we could enjoy playing tourists. We drove north via Roxburgh, a very old styled village. There wasn't much there but the coffee shop was nice. Its food looked really tasty and they did lots of different types of teas. We bought two 'Mousetraps', which is essentially the name of rarebit over here it seems. They are tomato, bacon and cheese on toast.
We drove into Mt Aspiring National Park, otherwise previously known to me as the Haast Pass. First we stopped at the Blue Pools for a bit where I enjoyed skimming stones, but the rain started so we moved on.
Next was Fantail Falls, which was a nice waterfall.
Next was Thunder Creek Falls, another waterfall where the sandflies wanted to bite us.
Next was a disappointment for Sabine. It was called Roaring Billy. When she was last here, she had to work her way to get to the waterfall through the mud. She enjoyed the challenge. Now however it has an easy access path to it. The rain was a bit off and on during our excursion but at this point it was getting worse so we drove back.
Luckily, Wanaka was nice and dry. We checked into a nice AirBnB which was a new build residential area. We met the owners who welcomed us very kindly to their Outhouse. It was literally built and maybe even designed in the first place to be an outhouse. Anyway it was small but super modern. We couldn't have asked for anything better. The tiny kitchen was a bit of an issue but otherwise really nice. The owners are German and were chatting with Sabine and I upon arrival.
In the evening we ventured out to Wanaka. Sabine and I were a bit shocked at just how busy it was. Think Brighton on a Saturday night. Yeah, exactly. I do however remember it being touristy before, in 2009 (In that diary I was calling both Queenstown and Wanaka as both being 'tourist traps'), but yeah even I think it was a bit OTT. The pubs were overran with people and there was tourists littered everywhere, Including New World Supermarket. We bought some drinks and celebrated her upcoming birthday in our little outhouse. We watched this crazy american TV program called 'Millionaire Matchmaker'. I have never seen anything so shallow in all my life. Yes it could all be staged, but its trash TV at its absolute finest. Perfect for drinking with. Everyone on that program were shallow human beings.
24 Sun-
Sabines birthday! I got her a 'Hello Kiwi' Mug, 'Hello Kiwi' fantail keyring, and as a main present, a camera tripod.
We ventured out to the very edge of Wanaka to enjoy the lake views without the world and his wife hanging around. I made use of the rope swing on the beach.
Next we drove to Diamond Lake for a beautiful walk up a mountain. At the top were fantastic views of the surrounding mountains and Lake Wanaka. On the way down I videoed a Bellbird which was interested in me!
After that we stopped for the odd photo opportunity but then drove home to Dunedin.
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