Back in Queenstown and left without a Stephen's family guide for the 2nd time since we left home we have to look around and figure things out for ourselves, try to meet people... but after one day that all seems too difficult so Ellie logs into Facebook to track down the phone number of her old friend Jessica who is from Punchestown and has been living in Queenstown for the past year.
We meet Jess at one of the many 'locals' for a drink, introductions are made and she and Ellie get reacquainted. A few jugs of beer and a game of pool later, some more of Jess's friends meet us at the bar, and we have a great night getting to know everyone and it's decided that tomorrow we will go to Wanaka for a little road trip.
Wanaka
The next morning we meet Jess at her house and Ellie, Jess's friend Paul and I all set off in the car for Wanaka. Wanaka is a bit like Queenstown Jr. Smaller and with less of a resort feel to it but with a beautiful lake, mountains and adrenaline sports to boot. During the scenic drive it transpires Jess should probably wear glasses but chooses not to! We tighten our seatbelts around us and eventually all arrive in Wanaka in one piece! We pick up some picnic supplies at the local supermarket and head for a secluded little beach where we have a feast of sandwiches, crisps, fruit and chocolate while enjoying the lake view and only being disturbed by the odd excitable dog with a good nose for sandwiches. Then we practice trying to skim stones or just throw them with our left hand and see how uncoordinated we look. The word 'special' was bandied about- for all the wrong reasons!
After a while the winter sun isn't quite enough to keep us warm and we pack up the car and head for home.But we couldn't go all the way to Wanaka and back without making a stop-off at the wonderfully (unintentionally) kitsch Puzzling World. which much to everyones dismay is a bit of a mouthful and we all agree plain ol 'Puzzle World' would be much easier to say!
We tackle some "mind bottling" wooden puzzles and jigsaws in the main reception area and then head for different areas of the world that is puzzling. Magic-eye pictures, sculpted faces of Einsteins and Winston Churchill's that follow you with their eyes, slanting rooms where water runs up the hill are amongst the many optical illusions and games that mess with our senses. The best illusion was a slanted room that makes you look huge when you stand on one side and tiny on the other. As with most of the attractions in this part of the world it likes to link itself to Lord Of The Rings in someway or another and this particular one informs us that this was one of the methods they used to make the hobbits look smaller than Gandalf. A camera takes a 30 second recording of you so you can mess about, run from one side of the room to the other and then go back outside and watch it on a TV screen, endless fun!
After taking in as much of a brain-poking as our mildly hungover heads can take- and avoiding the Maze outside for the same reasons we head back towards Queenstown. On this trip we don't get to visit Wanaka's other quirky little attraction The Cinema Paradiso a tiny picture house where all the seats are couches, cushions or a half-car. We'll have to save the unique cinematic experience for our next trip this way.
On the drive home we give a quick crane of our necks as we pass by one of the famous bungy bridges to see if we can spot any thrill seekers testing the elastics, but even adrenaline junkies have to take a break sometimes I guess. We say goodbye, and go home with that satisfied feeling of a good day out and the fact that with minimum effort from myself and Ellie we seem to have acquired a new group of friends quite easily!
Run Run -self timer photo!
PS. Pics courtesy of Ellie, my camera was MIA that day!
We meet Jess at one of the many 'locals' for a drink, introductions are made and she and Ellie get reacquainted. A few jugs of beer and a game of pool later, some more of Jess's friends meet us at the bar, and we have a great night getting to know everyone and it's decided that tomorrow we will go to Wanaka for a little road trip.
Wanaka
 |
| From Ellie's pics of Wanaka |
The next morning we meet Jess at her house and Ellie, Jess's friend Paul and I all set off in the car for Wanaka. Wanaka is a bit like Queenstown Jr. Smaller and with less of a resort feel to it but with a beautiful lake, mountains and adrenaline sports to boot. During the scenic drive it transpires Jess should probably wear glasses but chooses not to! We tighten our seatbelts around us and eventually all arrive in Wanaka in one piece! We pick up some picnic supplies at the local supermarket and head for a secluded little beach where we have a feast of sandwiches, crisps, fruit and chocolate while enjoying the lake view and only being disturbed by the odd excitable dog with a good nose for sandwiches. Then we practice trying to skim stones or just throw them with our left hand and see how uncoordinated we look. The word 'special' was bandied about- for all the wrong reasons!
 |
| From Ellie's pics of Wanaka |
After a while the winter sun isn't quite enough to keep us warm and we pack up the car and head for home.But we couldn't go all the way to Wanaka and back without making a stop-off at the wonderfully (unintentionally) kitsch Puzzling World. which much to everyones dismay is a bit of a mouthful and we all agree plain ol 'Puzzle World' would be much easier to say!
We tackle some "mind bottling" wooden puzzles and jigsaws in the main reception area and then head for different areas of the world that is puzzling. Magic-eye pictures, sculpted faces of Einsteins and Winston Churchill's that follow you with their eyes, slanting rooms where water runs up the hill are amongst the many optical illusions and games that mess with our senses. The best illusion was a slanted room that makes you look huge when you stand on one side and tiny on the other. As with most of the attractions in this part of the world it likes to link itself to Lord Of The Rings in someway or another and this particular one informs us that this was one of the methods they used to make the hobbits look smaller than Gandalf. A camera takes a 30 second recording of you so you can mess about, run from one side of the room to the other and then go back outside and watch it on a TV screen, endless fun!
 |
| From Ellie's pics of Wanaka |
 |
| From Ellie's pics of Wanaka |
 |
| From Ellie's pics of Wanaka |
After taking in as much of a brain-poking as our mildly hungover heads can take- and avoiding the Maze outside for the same reasons we head back towards Queenstown. On this trip we don't get to visit Wanaka's other quirky little attraction The Cinema Paradiso a tiny picture house where all the seats are couches, cushions or a half-car. We'll have to save the unique cinematic experience for our next trip this way.
On the drive home we give a quick crane of our necks as we pass by one of the famous bungy bridges to see if we can spot any thrill seekers testing the elastics, but even adrenaline junkies have to take a break sometimes I guess. We say goodbye, and go home with that satisfied feeling of a good day out and the fact that with minimum effort from myself and Ellie we seem to have acquired a new group of friends quite easily!
Run Run -self timer photo!
 |
| From Ellie's pics of Wanaka |
PS. Pics courtesy of Ellie, my camera was MIA that day!
August 23, 2010 at 5:23 AM
So you finally made some friends? ;)