TRAVEL TALES
A Lake Surrounded by Snow-covered Mountain Peaks of the Southern Alps
Wānaka and our first outing in New Zealand
On the one hand, I still can’t believe it. That I’m here. In New Zealand. The country I dreamt of living in and exploring for so long. On the other hand, I feel at home already.
And while we didn’t get to jump straight into work against our expectations, we didn’t complain and explored our surroundings a little.
The first stop was Wānaka. While our work is just outside of town at the airfield, we aren’t staying in the city but found a lovely apartment in the vineyards just half an hour’s drive away.
Anyhow, we went to Wānaka to activate our bank accounts, get a sim card and simply enjoy the view of the lake and the surrounding mountains.
A beautiful pathway leads along the shore of Lake Wānaka. Pebbles are lining the beach and few but tall trees are offering shade. A few ducks were swimming in the water and a dog was enjoying himself.
Talking about ducks. You better watch out when you drive down the lake road. Ducks have right of way just that you know. And if you want some insider knowledge, start collecting pictures of random signs. I’ll include that in a future challenge topic next year.
Since we were a little hungry, we wandered back into town looking for the food court I had read about. Located next to a small river and decorated nicely with trees, bushes and flowers, a handful of food trucks were offering pizza, burgers, sushi and a few other delicacies. We opted for a pulled pork burrito medium hot. It was divine.
After getting all things done, we opted for the lake boardwalk leading us along the beautiful shoreline of Lake Wānaka. With the snow-covered peaks of the Southern Alps on the far end of the lake, we couldn’t take our eyes off the horizon.
One jogger and a cyclist passed us, apart from them we had the trail to ourselves.
As we were turning back on the boardwalk, we just mentioned it was weird we didn’t see any fish in the water. Just as we finished the sentence this massive rainbow trout (correct?) came into our view and inserted “you said what?”
I guess there are fish in the water after all.
And with this image of Eely Point Reserve and the views of the mountains in the back, I leave you now. Listening to the birds chirping in the trees next to me and the bleating of the lambs in the distance, I am in peace and joy.
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