.: semester break in Wanaka! :.
| 06.07.2007 |
| Hey folks!
Here i am again, this time from Wanaka! After having a look at New Zealand's biggest Dam (which by the way produces Power for the north island..) i met Anna in Wanaka, she also decided to come down for some skiing! Ian now works in the New World, the more or less only shopping centre in Wanaka. Of course we gave him a hard time and bought small small amounts... Maddie invited us for dinner at night, as a thanks for accomodating her in Christchurch. Very nice, so we went out and ended up in the "Cow", a cozy pizza place. After dinner we went into town a bit, and on the way we hit the purple cow .. that raises memories! Next morning Maddie, Anna and me dashed over to the Cardrona Ski field and i tried boarding the first time! was a bit difficult at the beginning, but i managed to get down the pist without falling too often! We met some friends from Christchurch, and went for a drink in a nice Café in town. There i met two german girls with Karl, another guy from our hostel, which "unfortunately" had to seat themselves next to us due to lack of spare seats.. well they turned out to work at the Treble Cone ski field, the other ski resort close to Wanaka. Since finding a flat at peak season is a bit difficult, they both had to sleep in their van all nights ... COLD! We offered them a free shower in our hostel and went into town later on. there i experienced crazy stuff: in the Shooters Bar someone totally hammered in a borat-like dress just peed on the floor next to the bar! YES, in the middle of the pub .. After a relaxed breakfast at the Tango's Bar Anna, Maddie and me went to an afternoon session at Cardrona. i took a snowboard lesson while they went down the tracks .. but it was good, i learned a lot and at the end of the day i managed to get on the lift for a last ride .. later at the café we met Janine and Manu again and went for a movie into the purple cow. we still knew from april that they have movies going on every night at around eight.. the two girls got 10 half-price tickets for their season each, and they gave us some! so anna and me got to dash down the treble cone ski fields for $34 bucks for the whole day! Yeah! anna went home at some stage after lunch, but i wanted to make the most out of it and went down and down again. well and at the end i managed to fall on the icy end of the beginner's slope and injured my knee .. GRRRR so i could skip boarding the next day! But sunny thinks positive and chooses plan B: Tramping! Anna, Maddie and Ian went to Cardrona, and i went off towards the Diamond Lake Track. after a short visit at the Wanaka Monument i pulled my thumb out and was at the walk in no time! there i met two germans from our hostel (hell you really can't get rid of them ..) and joined them to the wanaka viewpoint. just walking for half an hour, i forgot my boarding worries: on the way to the rocky mountain i dived into the winter wonderland! a hole face of a mountain covered in icycles, weird ice formations and a great view over Lake Wanaka! From up there one can even see the lifts from Treble Cone! after 2 minutes waiting at the street i got picked up and drove back towards wanaka, letting me drop off at the Waterfall Creek Walkway, which basically leads back to wanaka, but on the shoreline! Next morning we wanted to hitch back to christchurch. but janine invited me for breakfast, so i couldn't say no and stayed a bit longer. since they wanted to spend the night in a backpackers, i organized two beds for them and even found one for me! well now i have seen all the BBH backpackers in wanaka :-) nontheless manu had to work and janine had to do some cleaning for her second job, so i had time to get into my tramping clothes again and went off for Mt. Iron! the mountain lies on the other side of the city and yields also a very nice overview! at night there was jellywrestling in alberttown, but i was too lazy and just hang out in the hostel! next morning i went off at -5C° to hitch back to christchurch. after half an hour walking i got picked up and got a ride to cromwell, the main junction where people from wanaka & queenstown drive up towards christchurch.. there i walked in the coldness for about 30 minutes .. i really dont want to know how it is to sleep in a van with these temperatures.. than i got a strike with my next pickup; a guy from uni took me all the way to christchurch!! holiday summary: hitching makes a lot of fun, boarden even more and a wasted knee! |
