As the snow still did not find the way to New Zealand and also as Wanaka is quite dead at the moment (which protects me from partying hangovers and lazyness), I had a chance to do few shorter hikes in the surrounding mountains. Three out of five days I've spent here was weather suitable for hiking (including one day being absolutely fabulous) and I managed to see following places:
1) Mount Iron - 548m high hill which is practically part of the town.
Wanaka town and lake from Mt Iron
2) Rocky Mountain - again smaller, i think around 800m high (but this time very tricky - because of the rain turning the trail into river) hill with nice views on the other side of the lake
This unfortunately isn't a forest stream, but part of the trail...
View from Rocky Mountain towards Wanaka
3) Rob Roy glacier - beautiful hike through the forest to the base of the glacier.
Start of the trail - swing-bridge to 'nowhere'
The trail lead through this kind of rainforest...
...and ended up at the base of the Rob Roy glacier.
The drive back to Wanaka was not bad as well..
4) Roys peak - 1578m high peak close to Wanaka with beautiful 360 views
Direction North. Wanaka lake and town and somewhere behind the last visible mountains is Mt Dobson.
Direction West towards Mt Aspiring (2nd highest NZ mountain), which is unfortunately hidden in the clouds. The small bumpy hill in the middle is Rocky Mountain (see 3)).
Direction South - towards Queenstown.
BONUS: sunset on lake Wanaka
Shot from the town centre lakefront
Maori festival with bonfires and free hangi (traditional Maori food)
So much from Wanaka. I'm leaving tomorrow and heading North back to Fairlie and Mt Dobson, where I should start the ski season on Tuesday with the first training day.
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