Wanaka, New Zealand

Monday and Tuesday, 21 and 22 Janary 2008

Leahanne's sister, Amanda, has put us in touch with a friend of hers in Wanaka, Marian. Marian and her husband John, have a beautiful holiday house there and have kindly offered us a place to stay and a warm shower (yippee!). The inn is full, with friends of Marian and John's from Germany - Christian, Ursula, Brenda and Sandra - also staying. After being cooped up in the van, it's great to be able to enjoy the home comforts and delicious food.

The weather clouds up for a day but we sneak out for a stroll along the picturesque edge of Lake Wanaka and Leahanne re-discovers her obsession with jigsaws - a scary sight!

The next day we go kayaking with Marian, John, Christian and Ursula. Our guides are the very knowledgeable and chipper Ben (pronounced "bean" in New Zealandish) and Geoff. Apart from Christian and Ursula, we are all novices at kayaking but Ben and Geoff are very patient teachers and soon enough we are out on the open water. Because of the recent rains the river has swelled and is moving at about 8 kph. It is crystal clear though and we can see plenty of fish below, along with the scourge of New Zealand's waterways - the algae didymo (a.k.a. "rock snot"). It's a nice gentle run and we can enjoy the scenery on the banks of the river. Before long though we are flying (a bit of an exaggeration) through rapids and eddies with names like the "Mother-in-law" and the "Washing Machine" and most of us, except for the perfectly-balanced Leahanne, have taken a few dips in the water. It's an enjoyable day and we'd really recommend Alpine Kayak Guides.

Thanks to Marian and John's very warm hospitality, Wanaka has definitely been one of the highlights of our time in New Zealand. It was hard to wrench ourselves away.

If you want to see photos click here.