Monday 16 May 2022

Still on the road…

With Milford done we headed north to Wanaka, via Gibbston Valley where we picked up some wine then Cromwell where we lunched at the Stoaker Room, a favourite stop of ours in the region. As you can see I am in a happy place with a generous serving of porchetta…this place does great food!

The rain of the previous day had cleared although the clouds were still low around the mountains, but didn’t detract from the stunning view from our hotel balcony.


By evening the clouds had all but cleared for a great sunset across the lake.


Monday dawned a little overcast, but by lunchtime the skies were blue and we took a picnic to Glendhu Bay, just a few kilometres out of town. With not a soul around we sat enjoying the serenity of the place…and people wonder why I am attracted to this part of the country.



Returning to the hotel we spent the early afternoon sitting on the hotel balcony in the hot sun reading with a glass of Pinot Noir occasionally glancing out over the glittering lake.

Then we walked along the edge of the lake into town (about 2 km) for a drink or two with magnificent views across the lake.





I could really get used to this!

After a more spectacular sunset than the previous day the whole day was topped off with a great dinner at a fabulous Chinese restaurant overlooking the waterfront.







8 comments:

  1. Great stuff Mark - I for one dont wonder why you are attracted to the area! Our friends Brett and Casey were semi seriously talking about buying the lease of one of the Glenorchy cafes and moving down there - they may be a bit young yet but I would not be surprised if they end up down that way, although they did not have a lot of time for Wanaka it has to be said! We only spent about an hour there in total, about time to walk round to the tree and take some pics, along with four very attractive Chinese girls who seemed to be doing a fashion shoot for their Instagram pages - honestly, they were in stiletto heeled boots on the pebble beach, wearing the kind of clothes you would expect to see on city night clubbers - I was tempted to try and sneak in a couple of pics of my own, purely in the interests of evidence of my story, needless to say!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like both Queenstown and Wanaka. The big disadvantage for Queenstown for me is that that main part of the town gets very little sun in the winter, although a little further out towards Lake Hayes is not so bad. I suppose the big advantage of Queenstown is its size and facilities, although from the development going on at Wanaka it’s not going to be far behind soon. It is interesting to note that Wanaka does not seem to have suffered so severely from the tourism downturn, with far fewer empty shops than other places. I can see the need for some serious discussion about retirement locations in the next year so so.

      I too have observed the posers on the beach front!

      Delete
  2. No, I'm not envious at all!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don’t be too envious…back to the grind on Thursday!

      Delete
  3. Beautiful scenery Mark…
    You certainly live in a beautiful part of the world…

    All the best. Aly

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And so relaxing…of course that may have something to do with the pub with 18 craft beers on tap and seemingly unlimited wine selection!

      Delete
  4. You look very relaxed there Mark. That part of the world definitely suits you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I can see myself on a mountain bike or in a kayak…and retiring to the bar or café afterwards! We went back to the same place for her indoors’ birthday lunch today. It was quite a sunny day at a balmy 19 degrees when we left, but now the weather has turned a little and a chill wind is blowing. We are a little amused as there is a Chinese couple having their wedding photos taken in the resort garden…she really must be freezing…

      Delete