Day 12- Wanaka to Balclutha

 Today was our most cruisy yet.  Quite a bit of driving but the scenery was not as phenomenal as it has been..

in fact parts reminded us of the drive between Bungendore and Braidwood

Plus the whines about stopping intensified (mainly from the person in the front seat) so there were a couple of nicer views that were missed and the others were taken out of the moving car window (such a no no 😜)

I'd re-jigged our plans to include Dunedin and in hind sight not sure I should have.  The Red Hot Chilli Pepper played there last night and there was no and I mean zip, nada, nilch accommodation, plus Dunedin had a bit of an edgy, slightly grungy feel, at least the central part we visited did. 

Steve was a keen bean to visit the Speight's brewery The kids weren't fussed so we ditched them.  They filled us in later about their excellent lunch and how full they were.  Steve and I sacrificed lunch for an excellent brewery tour with samples afterwards.

And then, a bit more driving on to Balclutha and our roadside motel, which was a bit average looking from the outside but very nice on the inside.  And feeling very bereft of blog photos I nipped out and pestered some local sheep!

Played Five Crowns again and I may just have SMASHED it! 😁

Day 11 - Wanaka

A new day and a whole new bunch of activities - starting with a wee jog to the second frisbee golf course in Wanaka, followed by a well-deserved coffee and breakfast. And then of course frisbee golf....

Em and I just tagged along and very helpfully pointed out the location of the baskets and lost frisbees.  Daniel's is highly camouflaged so proved the most tricky to locate, but seeing as he was the clear winner on this round, his was usually somewhere on course for the basket (when it wasn't stuck in the bushes that is).

\

After golf we persuaded Emily to come for a walk - it was meant to be a wee one up to Diamond Lake, which started off just fine....

... until we met some dude en route who said something about keeping left at some fork, which we did and as a result our wee walk turned in to a bit of an uphill nightmare that just went on and on and on...

It was at this point Miss M had had enough.  She was a bit grumbly and we tried the standard motivational speeches, but she was having none of it.  We all got a bit separated and next thing - we're at the top where the route loops back and Miss M had poof - disappeared.  We yelled - nothing.  I got a bit grumbly looking for her, then Steve joined in.  

Chopper looking for Emily

Anyway - final result - I continued on the loop and met a lovely Canadian called Nancy and we chit chatted all the way down. Steve doubled back and caught up and then overtook Emily who then waited for Nancy and I. All over the shop really!

And the extended walk meant we were running late for our next activity - Puzzling World - illusions, holograms, forced perspective and a tilted room that totally messed with your mind (and potentially your tummy).  The 15 degree incline made it look like water ran uphill and you had to lean to stand straight - super cool.

And finally - an annoying maze involving stairs and two levels and signs that cheerfully said most people covered 1-3kms trying to navigate their way around and out.  I attempted the left hand on one wall trick and it sort of worked, although the stairs made it tricky. 

And after all that excitement - back to accommodation to recharge before heading out for a bit of a flop of a dinner, especially for poor Daniel who waited nearly 40 minutes for a massive fried chicken burger that was foul (boom boom 😜).

Day 10 - Lake Tekapo to Wanaka

Lake Tekapo to Wanaka - 267kms and first stop coffee and hot chocolate in Twizel... Jeremy and Emily definitely picked the drink of the day mainly because it had a Whittaker's chocolate stirrer.  A bit envious really.

Sorry for cutting your eyes off in the first shot Jem!

And then something fishy...

Salmon farm

Catch your own fishy 🎣

A bit more driving with a random seagull making an appearance.

And then something strawberry-ish

Ate heaps - tell-tale red staining around mouth and on hands 😏. 

And then something sweet and lavendery...

BTW - Daniel and I are having a bee-off comp.  Best bee photo wins. 

Daniel's bee photo - excellent but minus points because it's an ugly bee 😡

267kms later and we are in Wanaka...

Top photo is the view from our apartment

Interesting potential for a story re the two bottom left shots above.  Jeremy may have sat on that deck and his phone may have slipped out of his pocket and through the tiny slits on the deck.  Daniel may have crawled under the deck to retrieve said phone.  All of this may or may not have happened.

Penny's bee photo - excellent and bonus points because it's a cute fat fuzzy bumble bee. 😁

What's with the verandah's on the apartments below - they look skewiff! 

A bit of frisbee golf on a very crispy course..

And a late 10:30pm addition - Daniel has been taking more piccies...

Emily and Steve making dinner

Scenery and abandoned house near our accommodation

Dessert!

And look what we bought Chris and Maxine.  I just had my inaugural game and came second last 😡.  No prizes for guessing who won!  She's going down tomorrow! 😜

Good Game!

Day 9 - Lake Tekapo

Today was meant to be a rest day with just a wee hike planned.  And here I am - feet up, sunburnt face and weary legs.  Our wee hike turned into a whopping 17kms and 24,000 steps and this is on the back of some pretty active days hence an essential nanna nap this afternoon. 😳

Before the hike even began Steve and I nipped down to the lake shore to take some quick pictures before the tourist onslaught (and I know we're tourists too, but because we're not driving a motor home or jumping off a tour bus we can pretend we're not 😉)

And last night we had our first sprinkle of rain.  It was in the early evening so didn't affect any plans and score - got a cool rainbow shot. It was actually a double one but the second was faint and didn't show up on the photo.

We started our hike around 12 noon and the photo below was about 300m from the official start by which time we'd already walked about 1.5km from the supermarket carpark.  Squids were not happy when they realise we could actually have parked at the start.  

And from this point it was up, up and more up - 2.4km worth and 460m of elevation. Oh yep - we weren't expecting it to be that high, steep and long and all might have been a bit sweaty and crotchety by the time we got to the top. Not that you can tell from our smiling faces below 😑 

Bottom right gives an idea of how high we climbed

And then on a bit further to a bunch of observatories and a cafe.  

Had a bit of a sit down before the kids announced they did NOT want to continue on the long way so it was adios amigo and we parted ways.

Top right sign showing the short and long way back

I think we made the right choice because we got to see this...

this...

and this...

😁

Day 8 - Christchurch to Lake Tekapo

Christchurch botanic gardens are stunning, from the cafe to the gift shop, the canal and the beautiful trees to the roses and dahlias and don't get me started on the begonias.  Even Daniel was inspired enough to insist a go with my camera and, like a true artiste, has demanded I credit his photos.

Fist few views of the gardens (not Daniel 😆)

The Cafe (bottom left below) is where they go after Parkrun!!  Fantabuloso!

Bottom right may have been taken by Daniel 😍

Stunning display in the gift shop!

Sensational display in the gift shop (not Daniel 😜)

Photo taken by Danny P (under strict guidance 😏)

Single dahlias

Double dahlias (think I'm edging towards the single)

Onion bulb flowers (I think)

Left NZB by DP 👍

And here it comes - the begonia house....had grabbed my camera back at this stage - was getting far too twitchy without it.  

Close-ups of these beautiful flowers..

All beautiful but the bottom left was a standout!

Colour and beauty overload!

Until the next room....

Yep - I guess Cacti have their own special kind of beauty 😐

Back outside...

And one last view...

And on that high - we left Christchurch heading for Lake Tekapo past scenery like this

Photo taken by Jem out the car window (under driver instruction 😎)

with a 9km walk snuck in the middle at this place.....Rakaia Gorge

The kids turned back after 1.4km but Steve and I did around 9km - the views were amaze-balls.

Stunning...

And then onwards and upwards - through Fairlie for some excellent pies.  Steve had 2 - pork belly, and salmon and bacon, and gave then both the thumbs up.  It was only a short trip through more lovely scenery

Until we arrived at Lake Tekapo with this view taken just outside the office where we picked up the keys to our accommodation