While I will always remember Lake Wanaka as the site of my inaugural skydive, the surrounding area is also pretty great – and definitely worth a visit.
On our way from Queenstown to Lake Wanaka on Monday, we (and by “we” I mean Alex) successfully navigated the winding turns of Crown Range Road through the New Zealand countryside. Midway through the drive we arrived at a viewpoint looking out into the Queenstown area and we were not disappointed.
Alex didn't mind the driving with scenery like this!
Pretty windy up here - my hair looks like I was just electrocuted!
We spent the rest of the day determining skydiving logistics (see skydiving post here) and didn’t have energy for much else afterward!
After coming down from our adrenaline high - and sleeping in - on Tuesday Alex and I set out for a short road trip to explore Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea.
We could not have asked for a better day and took our time driving through the hills and taking it all in.
Hitting the open road.
Approaching Lake Hawea.
Need those shades to check out that bright blue water!
I mean, how smooth is this water?
We made our way to the Blue Pools and hiked the 30 minute “trek” (seriously, a woman with a cane was walking ahead of us so clearly not a very intense hike) to the swinging bridge.
Turquoise, but very chilly, water!
Not having thought to bring swimsuits, we stayed long enough to take in the surroundings before heading back to the beach at Lake Wanaka for a few hours before dinner.
View of Lake Wanaka from town.
Wednesday was overcast so we geared up for a more intense hike up Rocky Mountain. It was pretty cloudy at the beginning – which provided cooler hiking conditions – but started to clear up a bit as we ascended.
Diamond Lake.
Looking out from the summit of Rocky Mountain.
Checking out the nearby mountains...
...and one of us.
The hike was actually a bit more intense than we anticipated but we felt great to have accomplished the trek before noon! Afterward, we headed back to town for a late lunch and some relaxation. We took a few hours to plan the next few days of our trip through New Zealand and ended with a delicious Japanese meal at Sasanoki, a great reminder of our time in Japan. Tomorrow we are heading up to Franz Joseph – fingers crossed for more clear skies!