Day 36 - February 15, 2023

Day 36:  Wanaka - rest day

Central Otago scenery, abundant shopping and dining options, or a relaxing walk by the lake; take a break in Wanaka.

The beautiful weather continued for our rest day in Wanaka.  What a great little town this is!  Its downtown core sits right on the lakefront, with mountains all around.  I believe the ski areas in the winter are not too far away either.  

Robyn and I headed down to the lakefront for about 9am.  The kayak and SUP rental place was pretty busy first thing in the morning.  Here are a group of women doing some warm-up exercises before heading out on SUPs, and a couple getting kayak instructions before heading out.




We rented a kayak and did a trip called "the mission".  A powerboat with our tandem kayak loaded onto it took us out to a point about 10km away.  We then had 3 hours to paddle our way back.  I just took my phone out once to snap some pics and then decided I would just wait to get copies of Robyn's pics taken with her waterproof camera.  Here are my three....................  I'll update with her pictures when I have a chance.




 It was such a nice day to be out on the water!  We crisscrossed the bay a few times, observed lots of water birds, went around a few islands, checked out various boats moored closer to land, found the famous "Wanaka Tree", looked with interest at the lake bottom where we were close enough to see it, and generally just marveled at the beauty around us.  And we timed it just right - the wind was just starting to come up as we pulled in to shore around 1pm.  

Back to shore and some browsing around town.  Lots of nice stuff in the shops, but I don't need anything and there were no outstanding bargains.  

Here are some waterfront shots from my wander in the afternoon.







Six of us went to dinner at a wonderful Asian Fusion place (Fudog), and feasted on a seemingly endless string of delicious sharing plates.  

Here's a picture of the hotel where we're staying.  Very convenient to the downtown action.  The way it is constructed, we were constantly hearing loud creaks and groans from the timbers.  My roommate said she heard it go on throughout the night, but once my head hits the pillow I'm generally gone for the duration.


Best place yet to spend a rest day.





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