Lake Wanaka

Our drive to Lake Wanaka was filled with more 'Oohs & Ahhs!'  This entire south island of New Zealand is not lacking in impressive scenery by any means!  Valleys, ice-capped mountains, waterfalls, unbelievably turquoise rivers and lakes, and all of it so shockingly bare, hardly a house in sight!

We've learned that Auckland has 50% of New Zealand's population, with Wellington/Christchurch about another third. But south of Christchurch there are only about 500,000 people.  Yes, it's colder than we envisioned, but the reality is that we are actually pretty far from the Equator as we drove passed the 45th latitude - yep there was a sign.

Beautiful view from drive to Lake Wanaka

Creating our own version of Kubb!

Leaving his mark by stacking stones at Fantail Falls

Stunning view along our drive

Just beautiful

Sheep, water, beach, snow capped mountains - this has it all!

Our first night in Lake Wanaka we got settled into our Airbnb unit in a dated resort on the outskirts of town.  We attempted dinner at the restaurant on site but aside from visiting with a sweet couple from England, the food was a flop.  We then headed to this unique movie theater in town to watch a showing of Everest (capitalizing on our morning glacier experience) and the story of Rob Hall, who is a Kiwi.  The theater served nice meals, snacks and alcohol, and only sat about 75 people in a range of typical movie seats to old cars with the roofs off of them, to couches placed throughout the theater. At intermission they had wonderfully warm and humongous cookies and homemade ice cream for purchase.  The entire experience was really fun and a great way to end our day with meaningful conversations about taking risks, being a hero, morals, and priorities.

Watching Everest at Cinema Paradiso

Ginormous warm chocolate chip cookies at intermission!

Our first full day the kids did school and were rewarded by swimming at the end of the day.  We went in town for dinner and were humbled by the beautiful view that so many of the local restaurants had overlooking the lake with the sun setting behind the mountains!  Lake Wanaka is breathtaking EVERY time you get a glimpse of it!  It's a large lake with snow capped mountains in the distance. The city vibe is quiet, healthy, and unobtrusive, yet friendly.

Yep, that's a wakeboarder in front of the sailboats & amazing mountains!

The next day we visited Stuart Lanesborough's Puzzling World and challenged our minds to figuring out optical illusions and puzzles of many different kinds.  We challenged one another to complete the outdoor maze and got a good workout running in circles.  This was a very unique and fun place with some great exhibits!

Dad in the tilted house where gravity challenged our experience

How did the kids get bigger than the parents?

Guys at the Roman Bath house 

G intrigued by MC Escher

We then visited the local gelato shop and had a delicious treat made from an authentic gelato recipe  that we enjoyed followed by time at the nearby park.

Never too old for cool dinosaur slides

We visited a lavender farm but it wasn't fully in bloom, so we wandered back to the lake for a walk towards a winery.  Upon approaching this winery, even the kids said, "Wow!  Let's move here!"   (Don't get any ideas with that comment!)  This piece of property was the most beautiful place we could imagine!  As we hiked up to the winery that has a waterfall behind the building, we overlooked the vineyard with Lake Wanaka and the mountain range in the background.  It was breathtaking!

Some of the lavender in bloom

SJ talking to the sheep

Breathtaking view over the Rippon Valley orchards

We enjoyed an overview of their wines with a fun young couple from the States who were traveling with their parents, while the kids were entertained with cheese, crackers, and the view.

That evening we picked up Subway for the super excited kids, while we had a date night, which was so much fun and much needed.

It's hard to believe we have to leave this place - the quiet natural beauty is enough to keep one occupied forever.  We are blessed to have stopped at this little slice of paradise!