History and charm
DAY 1 – On route to Wanaka
Weekends and/or the start of school holidays meant there were a lot more young kids at breakfast in the hotel this morning – with parents who seemed to have no control over them ! We quickly downed our breakfast and left the yelling and screaming to collect our things and hit the road. Yes, I know, my grumpy old man is showing !
The weather was overcast and the forecast was for unpredictable conditions when we set off. Dunedin is quite a hilly city and the road climbed as we made our way to State Highway 87 and the start of the Central Otago Touring route. This route is approx 340 kilometres and follows scenic highways from the Pacific Ocean to the foot of the Southern Alps at Queenstown – via the Strath Taieri and Maniototo Plains, winding through the heart of Central Otago. A very enjoyable drive.
There are lots of very tiny and historic towns along the way. It is certainly not on the same scale as Napier, however the small town of Ranfurly sports a few Art Deco buildings.
Nearby Oturehua boasts the Gilchrist Store and Hayes Engineering Works both renowned for their local history. The Gilchrist Store is the classic old town store and dating back to 1902 is the oldest continually operating store in NZ. It has lots of old memorabilia in the shop together with today’s essentials.
Hayes Engineering came from Ernest Hayes who was the original Kiwi innovator. A millwright by trade, he had to re-invent himself when the railway came to Central Otago and almost overnight killed off demand for locally produced flour. From his farm, he set about devising a series of brilliantly handy agricultural tools, from rabbit bait cutters to wind turbines to wire strainers which are still in common farm usage today. With his wife Hannah – who cycled great distances marketing their wares and taking orders -the little workshop evolved into a thriving engineering works.
In the town of Ophir, the suspension bridge and Post Office – again the oldest continually operating in NZ – date back to the late 1800’s and the gold rush days of the area.
We drove on through what became dramatic wide plains and rugged mountain scapes. We drove through the Ida Valley which according to Adrienne was the location of Rohan (LOTR) and stopped to for photos. The wind had certainly picked up a lot and we were almost being blown away at each stop.
We eventually came to the Clyde Dam, back near Cromwell where we had found the Heritage Village which had been rescued when the dam was being built. We were effectively at our “figure eight” crossing point for this South island part of our tour as we neared Wanaka.
After a stop of the dam and crossing to the other side of Lake Dunstan we reached the southern marker of the 45th parallel. It only actually crosses land in the southern hemisphere in New Zealand and through the bottom parts of South America. We had seen the northern 45th parallel near Yellowstone National Park on one of our USA tours.
We reached Wanaka late afternoon for 2 nights at the Clearbrook Apartments, just on the edge of town. After unpacking we walked down to the lake and by now the wind was almost gale force ! We did reconnaissance for dinner and stopped at the supermarket to collect some provisions for our breakfasts for this stay.
Despite the wind, we braved afternoon drinks on our balcony overlooking the mountains before walking back into town and settling on the Brew Bar for dinner – a combination brew pub and Sals American pizza where we had a huge but very tasty “half” pizza and a couple of drinks overlooking the lake.
The weather seems to have freshened up a cold so I may have to switch to a strong stout or whisky for medicinal purposes !
DAY 2 – Exploring around Wanaka
We had strong winds and rain overnight however these had largely passed by the morning and blue skies had greeted us as we left this morning to do some exploring.
Wanaka has become famous for a tree. It is a lone tree – “That Wanaka Tree” – which grows in the lake not far from shore. It became famous after a professional photographer won a competition with a photo of it and it is now a “must do” in Wanaka. Unfortunately it has lost at least one of its branches and is somewhat smaller than previously however the still waters this morning provided a good photo opportunity (except for the rock skimmers who decided this 10 square metres of the lakes 198 square kilometres was the best place for it).
We then drove out of town along the lake for a while in the direction of Mount Aspiring, the highest point in the area. We stopped to do a short walk to see Diamond Lake but after about 15 minutes or so as we got toward the lake the track became almost a river after all the rain last night. We tip-toed part of the way but when it became too deep we decided to turn back – neither of us had wellies with us !
As we walked back down the hill to the carpark, we watched some sheep in paddocks in the distance being rounded up and moved between paddocks b\y the clever dogs. As we drove further and not far along, we rounded a corner and came to a group being herded along the middle of the road so had no choice but to stop and watch them pass. We reached a spot called Treble Cone which is access to a ski area and then turned around back to Wanaka.
Next we drove south toward another ski area called Cardrona. However, first stop was “Bradrona” – another one of those “how did this escalate? ” instances of random clothing deposits. It all started when 4 bras suddenly appeared tied to a fence and somehow made the news. News spread and the size of the bra fence grew, then got removed, then grew again, then removed, then banned, then the fence moved, then the bras came back, then more bras and here we are today – simple ! Despite coaxing, Adrienne didn’t contribute.
Of equal (?!) interest nearby is the Cardrona Hotel, which is said to be one of the most photographed locations on NZ. As it was established in 1863, I think it pre-dates Bradrona. It was certainly more popular than Bradrona. After photos, we headed back toward Wanaka and drive out along the north-western part of the lake. We did a short walk and then drove back into town to get some lunch. We found a nice little bakery and had tasty pies – steak & mushroom and chicken, leek and bacon. They certainly do good pastry in NZ and we have eaten more pies and sausage rolls in this tour than we have for years ! They even served half decent coffee !
We then checked out “The Warehouse” nearby – the NZ equivalent of a Walmart. Certainly a smaller scale but covering most of life’s essentials – maybe not as big in the guns department ! And after a bit of a walk around, we went back to the hotel. The wind has certainly picked up again throughout the day and tomorrow’s forecast is looking a bit grim but we will see what happens.
After drinks on our balcony again, we wandered down the town for dinner – this time at Kai Whaka Pai Bar & Cafe. We tried there first last night but it was packed, we couldn’t find a table and the line for the bar was about 20 long. Sunday night was obviously a better option and although busy we found a table easily. Turned out to be a good option – we both had the asian inspired pork belly which was very tasty.
Wanaka has been a nice spot – we both felt it was much more “relaxed” than Queenstown. Tomorrow we move on to Franz Josef.
