Through the Lindis to Wanaka

Mar 30
2 min read

Friday 13 March

After being rocked all night by a howling gale (had to bring in Starlink it was that wild out there) we packed up in a leisurely fashion and hit the road into the Lindis Pass around 10.30.

It was a cold morning and not far to the summit so the engine performed brilliantly and we were soon on the other side of the range and heading to Tarras (obligatory stop for the sign selfie - and this time another real fruit ice cream) and then on to Wānaka.

Weirdly forgot that Friday was a show day too, even though our reason for being there was the A&P show, so roads were busy & blocked and we only just managed to blag our way into the dump station! We had a chat with the guys filling up the water tank on a horse float (about 450 litres - took a while) then I slipped in through a back gate to the showground and had a cheeky wander behind the horse lines, meeting a few of the competitors while Louis dealt with the grey and black water disposal.

Parked at our favourite spot at Albert Town in amongst the rabbits, had lunch, Louis snoozed and I blogged (as of writing the FB post I was 32 days behind on our website, https://www.banjosodyssey.com/blog - oops - now I am a mere 16 days behind). The hole that Kaia had been digging under our back leg a few weeks ago when we were here with the Fernandi was now a rather large crater, but she still hadn't caught the bunnies!

Headed into town around 5ish and walked around the lake from THAT Wānaka Tree to THOSE Wānaka Trees, past Rippon Vineyard and close to Ruby Island. Lovely evening with epic skies. The lake was definitely much lower than last time - looked like the tide was out! THAT Wānaka Tree was sitting proud of the water on a little peninsula rather than popping up out of the lake. There are many who question why this is even a thing, is it the most over-rated tourist destination in NZ? I like to think that its silhouette adds interest to the beautiful vista of the mountains behind, and I love the story of its origin - it is believed to have sprouted from a fence post that was erected before the lake levels rose, and once permanently fed by its waters, the old wood rose like a phoenix from the flames, put down roots and started growing again! I probably would not go out of my way to add it to an itinerary on its own, but a cool thing to visit if you are in the area.