Hobbit Spotting in Wanaka

Yet again, we had perfect weather for our coach trip from Fox Glacier to Wanaka - for one of the rainiest areas of New Zealand we seem to have had all the luck on the West Coast. The scenery on the way was absolutely stunning. The only trouble was that the coach driver decided to stop every 10 minutes to do a bit of sightseeing - every time we got back on the coach it wasn't even worth sitting down again! We came through Mount Aspiring National Park which had mountains flanking either side of the valley we passed through. Seb said he felt a bit homesick at this point as it was just like back in Switzerland.

By the afternoon, we had arrived in Wanaka and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We checked into our new hostel, The Purple Cow (which has great views of the lake and must have been converted from a ski lodge or something - very nice) and then we went down to the lake to take in the stunning views of the mountains.

We had aspirations of renting out kayaks on the lake but the hiring shack was closing as we approached them. Maybe another time, eh? Instead, we got in a few beers and sat on the veranda at the hostel watching the sun set over the mountains.

As my brother and Fred have been insisting on it, I have been on the lookout for any type of Shire folk during the New Zealand leg of my trip. It has taken 6+ weeks but I have finally seen my first hobbit! (Well........nearly - there's a midget that's been staying at the hostel). I asked if he had any of his best pipeweed and in return I'd buy him a flagon of ale down at the Green Dragon (Please note that I didn't really say these things as that would be insensitive and cruel - I merely put him on a table and made him dance a merry jig).

It was Labour Day weekend (like a bank holiday weekend back in Britain) so Wanaka was teeming with activity. While Seb was at the internet cafe, I wandered down around town and eventually sat down at the lake to watch some speedboat racing. It was pretty cool - there was a slalom set up and they had to do a spinning finish (they all had a side bet on apparently, of who could get the judges soaked!).

As we were resting up for a while (Seb has also hurt his ankle), we chilled out on the veranda (again!) with a New Zealander called Luke - he hung out with us for a few days sometimes telling us of his misguided youth and his goat killing adventures.

That evening, we all went to the quirky Cinema Paradiso - they had many funky chairs and sofas instead of the normal seating, but we all decided to sit in the Morris Minor! The film we went to see was Ruby & Quentin (Tais Toi!) which is a really funny film (don't let the subtitles put you off). The best thing about the cinema though was that they had an interval halfway through in which you could buy homemade cookies that had only just come out of the oven! The homemade icecream was pretty special too.

After the cinema, Luke took us to the Red Rock Bar to have a few drinks (it was saturday night after all). However, Ira (the Dutch Terrorist) turned up and made our escape by going to the pool table. After a few jugs, and dominating the table, closing time beckoned and we ambled back to the Purple Cow.

In response to the various messages of late:
Owain - Yes I have been saving them up as I've been writing them before I get to the internet cafe - it's been quite expensive recently but Wanaka has cheap rates which has allowed me to catch up a bit - some photos are imminent soon as well.
Nibbi - I'm sure that if I had the chance, ripped jeans could be huge in Plymouth but sadly, they're 10 years behind anyway so it's only just gone out of fashion.
Lex - Good to hear from you - did you get the web address from Col?
Mum - (That's Grannybags by the way) - I can do my own washing thank you very much - but I'll no doubt have to incinerate the pants and socks when I get back at Christmas - They're a bit like cardboard!