I did a short hike/adventure run in Queenstown before departing to Wanaka. Coincidentally, I bumped into my Chinese lady roommates on the hike. I caught my breath at the top of Queenstown hill, snapped a few photos and made my way home for a shower.
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Views of Lake Wakitapu from Queenstown Hill
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Views of Queenstown and the lake from Queenstown Hill
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At the house I had a chance to catch up with the homeowner’s daughter Jeanna, who seemed to be about my age. She had a much thicker New Zealand accent than I had heard, and was a Queenstown native. As I was in the south of the South Island, I wondered if the accent I was hearing was the Kiwi equivalent of a U.S.Southern accent. We discussed healthcare and traveling. Her boyfriend, a farmer had never left the South Island. She mentioned that she had decent health insurance because her dad was a retired police man and so he was in the “police scheme”. The police scheme is the equivalaent of a police union in the states. She also used the word “wee” about 80 times. I always thought wee was an Irish word but apparently it’s also well loved by certain Southern Kiwis. She also mentioned that she had a trip planned to Bali. She wasn’t the first person I had met who had visited or planned to visit Bali. Apparently it’s an inexpensive place to travel. However, according to Jeanna, the police are corrupt and if you go even one km above the speed limit you can be blackmailed for whatever jewelry you may be wearing. To avoid this problem she did not plan to rent a car.
Arrow town is a historical town that has a history of gold mining. Chinese immigrants were among those who came to Arrowtown looking for gold between 1880-1900. They were shunned by the white folks and set up their own shantytown. The remains of the town were discovered and set up. It was a fascinating little scene to check out.
I departed Arrowtown to continue my journey to Wanaka. I passed endless vineyards and cherry orchards. There were cherry stands everywhere so I picked up a bag. They were the best cherries I’ve ever had.
Nearly into Wanaka I saw signs for a lavender farm I had planned to check out. Seizing the moment, I pulled over. I walked around the different types of lavender and visited the gift shop. The woman working in the shop was the wife of the lavender farmer. They had been planning the farm for the last three years and this was their first season open. I asked about the growing conditions for lavender and she informed me that lavender grew very well in arid dry climates. It had not rained all season and the lavender was thriving. This information explained why I had killed so many lavender plants. I had way over-watered. I splurged on my first memento from my trip that was not food or medicinal related and bought a small bottle of lavender oil.
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| Wanaka Lavender Farm |
The lavender farm was only ten minutes from downtown Wanaka so shortly after my detour I arrived at my hostel: Wankabakpakas. It was far and away the nicest hostel I have stayed in. In addition to clean crisp accommodations the view from the common room was breathtaking. Even the kitchen was beautiful with huge wood islands and three stoves. I felt like I was in Newport, Rhode Island, not a mountain town in New Zealand.
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| Wanaka |
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| Look how low the clouds are! |
I made dinner and sat at a picnic table with a solo guy. He turned out to be a Canadian. Shortly after we were joined by his German and French friend. We started to discuss how we had wound up in Wanaka and I mentioned that I had driven in a car that started with a Ba sound, the Barina name escaping me. “A bentley?” one asked. I laughed, no not a Bentley. Then I accidentally said that I was catching a plane from Wanaka which was ridiculous. It’s a small town. Before long the conversation evolved into a big joke in which I, the ridiculous American was flying around New Zealand with a fleet of Bentley’s, a private helicopter to bring me to mountain tops and a yacht carried around by minions. It felt good to laugh with these new friends even though we would cease to know each other in a day or two.
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| View from the hostel living room at dusk |
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| The hostel kitchen |
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| Outdoor seating at the hostel with clouds obscuring the mountains |
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