Climbs, Cameras and Cowboys in Wanaka

The weather had definitely turned the next morning - making us glad we did the glacier climb with blue skies. We had 200km or so to drive to Wanaka so hit the road. Thumbing through our Lonely Planet guide I happened to read the 'author's choice' about Jackson Bay - it would be a small detour but had the promise of unforgettable views of the Alps, a colony of Fjordland Penguins and a trailer cafe serving the best whitebait patties in NZ. Sounded goods so far! Well, after a terminable drive along one of the straightest and bleakest roads, through red neck villages, we came upon Jackson Bay - a grey, storm-swept town with nothing in it apart from a few battered looking fishing boats. The cloud was so thick that we couldn't make out the sea, let alone this mesmerising view of the Alps and there wasn't a penguin to be seen for miles. With 2 out of 3 of our promises not looking hopeful, we headed to the trailer cafe to sample some local fare. What we found was a greasy caravan and two rather lethargic serving staff playing cards. The whitebait patties turned out to be frozen fish tossed into a fryer, squidged into an omlette and served between two slices of Mighty White bread. Guy's tea was a brimming mug of milk and water, allegedly with a tea bag in there somewhere! We ate our fish/egg/bread sandwiches as quick as we could and left. It was only on our long and silent drive back that we got our reward...a sighting of a pod of sleeping dolphins circling around the bay. They were so close in land and amazing to watch. (I made a mental note not to be so trusting of Lonely Planet 'Author Choices' in the future!).

We turned onto the Hasst Pass to get to Wanaka and started a slow climb through the forests of Mount Aspiring National Park. It was dramatic landscape and so different to what we'd seen on the East coast. As we broke out of the trees, we suddenly found ourselves driving along the shores of Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawai. Our pictures don't really do it justice. They are so vast and beautiful - both surrounded by snowy capped mountains. You think that you'll start to tire of these views but really they just keep getting better and better and constantly surprising you! As we drove into Wanaka we knew we'd love it. It's the little-brother town to nearby Queenstown - quieter and less touristy but with the same stunning landscape. We checked into the Purple Cow Backpackers and went to explore and have a few evening drinks. It was Hallowe'en night so we were served by a very convincing zombie!

The next day we heard that the outlook for the weather was good so we booked ourselves on a pony trek for the following morning - all around the backlands of Wanaka. To help get us into training for the Kepler Tramp (in 4 days time) we went for a lunctime walk up Mount Iron. Boy, was it steep! I was huffing and puffing my way up and being overtaken by 60 year old Kiwis who were just out on a stroll during their lunch break! (These people are invincible!). But it gave us a good view over Lake Wanaka and another pretty great place to have lunch. We whittled the afternoon away taking pictures of agressive ducks (Guy is now developing a photography specialism in 'fighting animals' - first fur seals and now mallards!), before holing up in a bar with a couple of glasses of the local wine.

We woke the next morning to a text coming in - Nick had reached the summit of Mt.Kili - the 4th highest mountain in the world, 5,600m high! We were so proud. The ALMT team who climbed have raised over 75K pounds so far, but you can still sponsor Nick and check out the pictures at www.almt.org.

Our challege that morning was a lot less spectacular and required significantly less effort...we were off to meet our horses for our pony trek. Unfortunately all the tough-sounding horses had b*ggered off to the other field, so Guy was left with Prickles! They did look good together though (see http://gallery.mac.com /guypattison). I had Prickles' sister - Biddy. The trek was excellent and surprising relaxing. We were riding cowboy style - one handed - and would have looked good had it not been for the workman hardhats were were wearing! We went out on the trek with 3 eight year olds and Danielle, the trek leader. The kids were so confident and self assured and we got quite a bit of stick when we scored 'bad points' every time our horses stopped for a wee or a poo! I had to laugh when we got ready to do our first trot. Everyone but Guy had ridden before, so while Danielle explained how we should all sit up in the saddle, to Guy she said 'just hang on!'. That said, by the end of the trek he'd mastered trotting and suggesting that he and Prickles could even be honorary Riders of Rohan! We spent a very chilled 2 hours meandering around the hills and crossing streams - all the time surrounded by snowy peaks. Perfect. But the serene tone was about to change as we drove on to Queenstown...