HAPPY WANAKA - TE ANAU & LAKE WANAKA - DAY 10
We wake up early, and have a light breakfast. Still groggy-eyed, we grab some coffee and hit the road for a few hours.
We drive through thick fog, until we literally drive OUT of it and into sunlight. It’s like we’ve experienced birth through driving. Yes, I know how dumb that sounds, but we drove in this for an hour, until we drove into sunlit, lush hills and mountains with clear blue sky. The weather, was so that you could literally step in to, and out of the fog if we pulled over.
We back track and see the lake, and all of the beautiful mountains that we missed driving through weather the previous morning. Ashley pops in some Lord Of The Rings music, and we listen to the soundtrack the whole way to the hike. *(I think we were all waiting for this).
After many hours in the car, on our way to hike Rob Roy Glacier, we hit a dirt road in between an endless array of mountains on either side. Once again, it’s absolutely stunning. There’s vast, sprawling land with livestock freely roaming everywhere, snow capped mountains, enormous boulders scattered in with lush moss, greenery and waterfalls. We curve to a side road, until the real road cuts off an into a dirt one.
Quite literally off the beaten path, and onto a more beaten one, we carry on, on this "road" in our little Prius. I'm riding shotgun, and very nervous about taking this little tin can through all of the rocks, ditches, and potholes...This honestly is just a man-made path from previous cars. Rachel, who is driving, doesn't mind in the least- Balls of steel. We drive for another 3 miles, until we come to a forced stop at a ford (a shallow body of water). Our rental car is only two wheel drive, and we think this is the end for us, and we won’t make it to the hike- We’re still 9km out from the start of it. The gap is massive, and filled with water melting from the snow and ice at the peak of mountain on our left, and running down into the river at our right.
We pullover. Rachel is completely and utterly bummed. I've never seen her angry, but I think I'm witnessing it for the first time. Ashley and I try to make the most of it. We wander around, and take photos. The views don't disappoint. Unfortunately, Rachel loves nature, hiking, and rock climbing- This was meant to be our biggest hike on the trip, and we can’t even get there. Defeat turns into frustration, and then determination. Rachel gets in the car with the intention of driving through the ford. Ashley and I protest, but Rachel's focus kicks into high gear. Reluctantly, we get in. Ashley and I exchange nervous looks.
Rachel starts up the car, reverses, and pauses while putting the gear in Drive. I brace, I can hear Ashley buckle up in the back. Rachel punches it, and we drive straight into the ford. The car hits the water, giving us resistance. Water splashes everywhere, and the car rocks through. To my relief, it's not as deep as we thought. The little car makes it! We’re across, and carry on another dirt road, pass a suspension bridge on a side trail, and come to two more fords. The first one is basically a puddle, and doesn’t cause any hesitation. The second looks deeper and larger than the first. We pullover to asses, and Rachel is defiant again. I find a stick to try and measure the depth. Ashley protests, but while Rachel and I try to decide on whether or not we should make a go for it, Ashley steps away to take more photos. I'll be the first to admit, I think a huge character flaw of mine is that I'm overly cautious. I wish I wasn't. I don't know if me being overly cautious, (or being the "mom" of the group), stems from fear of failure, a lack of faith in self, or both. Either way, I don't want to be stuck in a massive puddle, in the middle of farmland and mountains, with no one around, except for other parked cars, but with the hikers all miles away. I vote against it, but Rachel's anger over the fords keeping us from this hike, fuels her determination yet again. We all pile back in the car, and I calm back down when I remember the car is on her insurance policy. We nervously go for it. The ford is much deeper this time, but we make it, and carry on. We think we've gotten through all of the obstacles, and we celebrate- On our way for a 6mile hike!
Our victory is short-lived when we come to yet another ford. This time, the gap is much too wide, and the ford is much too deep. For the first time, Rachel relents to what is out of our control. Nature is just taking the piss at this point. We throw in the towel here, and park. The views are still spectacular. There's nothing but farmland, livestock, a river, and mountains surrounding you. The sun is out, it's brisk, and there's no sign of civilization anywhere, except for other abandoned parked cars, left by those who chose to answer the call to adventure. I had a massive geek moment, and remember a level in "Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly" on PS2 that has a map that looks very similar to this place. On a shallower nerd level, this place looks like Middle Earth.
The sting of disappointment lingers with Rachel for the rest of the day, even after accepting defeat. Although I was up for the challenge, I'm admittedly relieved to nix a 6mile hike. I’m unsure of how skilled of a hiker I am, even though I’ve been diligent with regularly exercising. Plus, Ashley has a bad cold, and an injured hip. I found out later, she was relieved as well.
We take advantage of where we are. We've burned too much daylight for the hike as it is. Instead, we find a short hike over to a waterfall. I don’t know what we’ve missed, but I’m grateful for where we've ended up.
To get to this waterfall, we cross into farmland where we’re greeted by sheep, and enormous turnips. We carry on over, jump across a few small rivers, and get to the waterfall. Still, we are surrounded by gargantuan mountains, sunlight, farmland, and scenery so beautiful, it can’t be described. We're all quiet as we hike. We're too stunned by the beauty that surrounds us. In the silence, I have a meditative moment, and thank God for where I am, and what I'm walking through. *(I know this sounds "Hallmarky". I also know that you must be thinking, "She's into the darkest of dark comedy, how could she possibly believe in the fantasy or figment of her imagination that is God"? Because I do, and that's it. I pray all the time. Especially when my money runs out).
As we walk, the sun hides behind a mountain peak, and we instantly become cold- Especially being closer to the waterfall. The three of us make it to this lovely oasis. At the waterfall, we hang around as long as we can. Rachel and I even find a rock with a carved inscription, dedicating the beauty of this place to a dear friend of the land owners. We feel honored to take part, and we're so glad to have come across it. Getting a bit numb, we turn back for the car, plow through the fords, and pullover again at the suspension bridge.
Rachel crosses first, and I run onto it about halfway. I take a few photos, and spook Rachel by jumping and swaying the bridge a few times. I'm afraid of bungee jumping, but not afraid of this- Go figure. It's a wonder how Rachel and I have opposing fears. We’re close to the ground, but she freaks out, and runs to the other side. I giggle- No hard feelings. I cross a bit more, and jump and sway again until I hear Ashley screaming at me from the opposite end, as she gets on the bridge. Drowned out by the water below us, I can’t hear what she's yelling, but I calmly walk across.
Finished crossing, Ashely points out a very obvious sign to me that I had clearly missed. “ABSOLUTELY NO JUMPING OR SWINGING ON BRIDGE. NO MORE THAN TWO PEOPLE ON THE BRIDGE AT ONE TIME”.
Whoops. Ignorance is bliss. Leave it to the idiot to have fun, nearly collapsing a bridge, and crashing us into the shallow river. I'll be sure to take a hint from the engineer next time when they run off of a bridge for safety. Everyone’s okay, and I didn’t do this when crossing back to the car.
...It was still the highlight of my day.
We cross back, and drive to Wanaka. We pull over numerous more times, as Rachel is in the driver’s seat. Ashley and I get a little annoyed with this, as I’ve had to pee for the past 5 hours with the promise of a bathroom at the hiking site, but of course, to no avail. Ashley just wants to feel better, and be rid of her cold.
At the last pullover stop, we see probably the tenth lake of the day. I’m able to finally use a public restroom, but this last stop flares up everyones’ tensions. Ashely and I just want to carry on to the hostel 20minutes away, but Rachel is sick of so many hours in the car, and is trying to get outside as much as possible. More photos later, we gather back in the car, and Rachel can feels us losing patience. She thanks us for humoring her, and we make it to the Wanaka hostel.
We check-in quickly, park, and unload half of our things. In the room, Rachel tries to grab her backpack and go for a walk immediately. Ashley and I ask if she can wait for one minute to watch our valuables in the room while we grab the second half of our things from the car. Rachel immediately return-serves our annoyance back to us, and becomes passive aggressive. Ashely is stronger than I am, but I avoid eye contact everywhere, to prevent further conflict. We promise a two minute absence. To further ease the tension, I ask Rachel if she wants me to grab her food from the car to put in the fridge. She curtly nods and says, “That would be great”, and swiftly walks deeper into the room.
Ashely and I hurry, and I make it back to the room first. All I say to Rachel is “Thanks for watching our stuff", and "Let me know if you want me to drive at all tomorrow”. She explains, “It’s just been a lot of hours in the car”. With this, she grabs her pack and takes off.
Ashley and I know it's best to give her space, and we search for a grocery store up the road. It's the closest one to the hostel, and we're surprised to find it’s crummy, and nothing more than a quicky-mart. The locals here are quite tough as well- Conservative, tight-lipped, kind people, but stern in their looks, and mannerisms. They're the kind of farmers who won't take any shit from you. ...Kind of reminds me of the northern most part of Sweden, to be honest.
With 30mins to cool off, the three of us meet back at the car and drive to a bigger grocery store, further away. We shuffle through the aisles to pick up the necessities, while repeatedly singing "Wanaka" to each other, to imitate Adam Sandler's "Hanukkah" song on SNL *(The emphasis in "Wanaka" is actually on the second "a" instead of the first, as in, "Wan-AH-ka". It's not supposed to be phonetically similar to "Hanukkah" at all). After, we walk over to Erik’s Fish and Chips- They spell it like your name, Dad. Apparently these guys are very well known throughout NZ. I’m not in the mood for everything to be fried, but it’s cheap, and filling, which is what I asked for.
I’m only able to eat half of what I ordered- Too greasy for me. The fried pineapple with powdered sugar and cinnamon however, was an absolute delight! I’m off to bed soon. Another early day tomorrow with only a 3mile hike, and another road trip...Heading to Lake Tekapo!
-eM
