10th Jan 2011 - A Bike Ride by the Lakes to Wanaka
A day of pretty much exactly 40 miles, or say 63kms, going from Makorora to Wanaka Kiwi Holiday Park. A pretty easy day's cycling. Down to Lake Wanaka on Highway 6 then along the Lake - delightful views of water and mountains (very like a Scottish loch). Then over a small climb and down to Lake Hawea. After a few kms we said hello to Steve and Karen as we wooshed on down the lake. Then we reached the bottom of Lake Hawea and took the road to Wanaka, passing 'Puzzling World' where we stopped briefly, intrigued by all the mazes (two levels!), labyrinths, rubik cubes, optical oddities and the like, tho' we hadn't yet reached a cash machine so we didn't pay the entrance and actually go in.Finally, reached Wanaka where I needed a new back tyre (Conti Sports Contacts 1.3 tyres do not last a long time especially under load on the back). Eventually bought the nearest thing Wanaka has to my tyre size - a 26 x 1.15, so pretty much a road tyre with even less off road viability.Then discovered the New World supermarket, where I bought the kind of food we haven't seen for a couple of hundred miles - organic yoghurt with greek honey, dark rye bread, thai curry soup.Then finally to the campsite - pitched and Guy went off to do a second food shop.Wanaka is evidently dedicated to thrills, sight-seeing on an industrial scale, and the humbler pleasures of ice cream, dining out and swimming in Lake Wanaka. Scenic flights and sky diving are evidently big here. I think we'll stay with the bikes. It is nice to see sailing boats out on the lake. In fact the place reminds me a little bit of Keswick. Lakes, mountains, parkland and a busy small-ish town.
A day of pretty much exactly 40 miles, or say 63kms, going from Makorora to Wanaka Kiwi Holiday Park. A pretty easy day's cycling. Down to Lake Wanaka on Highway 6 then along the Lake - delightful views of water and mountains (very like a Scottish loch). Then over a small climb and down to Lake Hawea. After a few kms we said hello to Steve and Karen as we wooshed on down the lake. Then we reached the bottom of Lake Hawea and took the road to Wanaka, passing 'Puzzling World' where we stopped briefly, intrigued by all the mazes (two levels!), labyrinths, rubik cubes, optical oddities and the like, tho' we hadn't yet reached a cash machine so we didn't pay the entrance and actually go in.Finally, reached Wanaka where I needed a new back tyre (Conti Sports Contacts 1.3 tyres do not last a long time especially under load on the back). Eventually bought the nearest thing Wanaka has to my tyre size - a 26 x 1.15, so pretty much a road tyre with even less off road viability.Then discovered the New World supermarket, where I bought the kind of food we haven't seen for a couple of hundred miles - organic yoghurt with greek honey, dark rye bread, thai curry soup.Then finally to the campsite - pitched and Guy went off to do a second food shop.Wanaka is evidently dedicated to thrills, sight-seeing on an industrial scale, and the humbler pleasures of ice cream, dining out and swimming in Lake Wanaka. Scenic flights and sky diving are evidently big here. I think we'll stay with the bikes. It is nice to see sailing boats out on the lake. In fact the place reminds me a little bit of Keswick. Lakes, mountains, parkland and a busy small-ish town.