What's up guys and ladies of course???????
I left Mont Cook for Wanaka. An other 2h driving to get there through the rain and the cloud. When is sun gonna show up?? Wanaka is what we could compare in France to a ski resort. You have the same village with all the store to rent ski gears, etc... The nice thing is the view from the hostel: a beautiful lake with mountains all around with snow. I spent one hour drinking a beer enjoying this view. I won't get bored of it. Wanaka is exactly what I imagine New Zealand to be, and even better.
After getting my room, I asked as always the recommandations from the front desk about hikes around here. I got three possibilities:
- Roy Peak hike that takes 6 hours
- Rocky Mountain hike that takes three hours
- A glacier hikes that takes three hours as well but it's one hour away and you need to drive on a farm road, meaning not a real road.
I decided that I will keep the 6 hours one for the next day and went for the glacier one. I drove for like an hour through the valley and it was a great sight but unfortunately, I needed to cross some fords to get to the parking lot and my car wasn't a SUV. I had to go back the other way but it wasn't too bad because I saw the rocky mountain hike then and that was a great hike. I had a great view from the lake and the mountains. I felt like being in the Lord of The Ring. I got some time to watch GOT and do some laundry.
Next morning, everybody in my room left early for skiing and I took my time to get a nice breakfast and relax for a bit. Then I decided to go to Roy Peak. I started climbing at 9h40. The weather was amazing, sunny with few clouds. In the middle of the climb, I found myself inside a cloud, I couldn't see anything except a cow and few sheeps time to time on the side of the road looking at me, you know, like they do: "what the fuck is a french guy doing here" :). THEN, the cloud disappeared... and tada:
I saw three girls going down with their skis on their back. They hiked really early to see the sun rise and then go down skiing. I envied them, I should have done something like that but my hike was still amazing. I climbed pretty fast, stopping few times for 2 pictures. I arrived at the top 2h20mins after leaving the parking lot. I was wearing a short because my legs were so warm. Two guys at the top asked me how I was handling the cold with a short :). I met two Australians (Lee and I don't remember the second one name). We chatted for a bit while I was eating my lunch. I finally got back to the car around 2pm10. It didn't take me 6h :). I still can't believe the landscape I saw today. I was the best hike I have done. I let you enjoyed the pictures (Facebook or Instagram). Below are few of them that I love.
See you later, next stop Te Anau and Milford Sound.