Wanaka, NZ
Sunday, March 8
Our little family of four got an early jumpstart to Wanaka this morning. Andi was up early and prompted the rest of us to get moving so we had a full day.
The drive along Lake Wanaka was gorgeous and the roads fairly empty around 9:00am which made it all the more enjoyable. It seems like the farther south we travel on New Zealand’s South Island, the more dramatic the scenery becomes.
We arrived in Wanaka around 9:30am and parked the RV in a spot downtown. First impression of the town we’d heard such wonderful things about — picturesque … and busy! It’s not easy navigating a congested area with a 22 ft. RV. We were lucky to find a spot to park along the lakefront.
Andi, Tory, Aden and I walked across the street in search of breakfast. We stopped at a bakery called Doughbin. Andi and I ordered two of New Zealand’s famous meat pies (kind of like a mini pot pie) and Tory an Aden each got a muffin. We sat on a bench outside the bakery and people-watched for a while until Aden bumped into my hot long black coffee spilling it all over our respective laps. Back to the RV we went to change clothes — one big perk of having a “home on wheels” with all of our possessions in close proximity.
Dressed and ready for the second time, the four of us continued to explore downtown Wanaka. We stopped inside a quaint mediterranean market to buy some olives and fresh, warm bread and browsed a few other shops and cafes. It was cold, wet and rainy that morning AND it was the weekend which are two factors that make campgrounds extra busy, so Andi and I decided to make our way to the holiday park early in the day to claim our spot. We checked into Wanaka Kiwi Holiday Park around Noon, then spent a few hours vegging out on iPads and computers while it rained outdoors.
Amid our laziness, Andi and I somehow forgot to feed our kids lunch so they were begging for dinner around 4:00pm. We decided to grill up the chicken skewers and roasted veggies we had for dinner then vs. feed them full of snacks and then expect them to eat an hour later. Andi got to work grilling while the kids and I prepped bread and fruit inside the campground community kitchen. We ate there, too, for a change in scenery.
After dinner, it was clear we hadn’t run Aden enough that day. He was bouncing off our tiny RV walls and with 325 sq. ft. of shared space for the four of us, that makes us all a little batty. All day we tried to avoid walking around in the rain, but now Andi and I realized our time had come. We put on our raincoats and drove to a walking track near the famous Wanaka tree growing in the middle of the lake. Lucky for us, we had the whole place to ourselves.
This tree is one of the most photographed spots in New Zealand. I can’t say it was glistening in all its glory on the day we visited, but it was still pretty a sight.
Monday, March 9
The sun was shining beautifully over the mountains the next morning. Andi and I decided to spend the day exploring Wanaka and then drive about 50 minutes south of town to a small village called Arrowtown.
The Nebraska family we met in Fox Glacier and then saw again at Boundary Creek was also camped at the Kiwi Holiday Park in Wanaka which made Aden and Tory very happy. I didn’t have the heart to tell them it was a school day — they were so excited to play with Archer and Teddy at the campground playground. The kids jumped on the trampoline while Andi and I sat on the curb nearby and chatted with Mike and Katie about future travel plans. Likely, we’ll meet up again along the route to Queenstown and eventually Fjordland.
Since there are lots of restaurant options in Wanaka, we decided to find lunch at an area in town with several food trucks. There were all sorts of menu items to choose from in a two-block radius — sushi, tacos, pulled pork, and the cutest french crepe stand housed in a camper called Charlie Brown’s. Naturally, we picked the camper! Andi proclaimed his savory veggie crepe the best he’d ever had. Tory and Aden weren’t complaining about their Nutella crepe either. The food was delish.
Tory desperately wanted to check out Puzzle World in Wanaka, so that’s where we headed next. Puzzle World is a family-friendly tourist attraction with an outdoor maze and optical illusion rooms. The tiny house tilted at a 15 degree angle was our family’s favorite. I don’t know why it was so funny to walk off-balanced but it was. It had us all giggling from the oddity of it all.
After the indoor mazes, we tested our luck in the outdoor maze. It was tough! The four of us walked around and around the maze for over an hour before we gave up and headed for the exit.
The weather was gorgeous outside that afternoon. We enjoyed a quick snack at the Puzzle World indoor cafe and tested our minds with some table puzzles.
There was so much more we could have done in Wanaka, but we felt compelled to move on. Last stop before leaving town to fill up on fuel, and then we hit the road to Arrowtown. More to come ….
