Queenstown's little sister

December 27, 2019

Queenstown's little sister - Wanaka

After spending a lovely morning in Arrowtown, we drove through Cardrona all the way to Wanaka which is somehow considered Queenstown's little sister. Situated on Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea, it does indeed look a bit like mini-Queenstown, completely surrounded by mountains.

However, it was missing the vibe and quirkiness and we were sort of disappointed. Apart from that, all activities such as cruises and nature walks around local islands were horrendously overpriced.

Plus the weather now kept changing, so we decided to drive around a bit and found some neat spots along the lake before continuing towards Mount Aspiring National Park.

Unfortunately, by the time we caught a glimpse of Mt. Aspiring, it was completely hidden under a cover of clouds and the rain had well and truly set, so we turned around and started the journey back to Queenstown.

Images from the famous Cardrona Hotel. Last time, in 2011, it was snowing heaps when we arrived so the direct route through the valley to Queenstown was actually closed.

Lake Wanaka

Dinosaur park on the shore of Lake Wanaka

We started the Millenium Walk towards Glendhu Bay, but the rain send us back.

Some funky glittery rocks along the shores of Lake Wanaka, en route to Mt. Aspiring National Park at Glendhu Bay

Hospital Flat - no idea why it's called that. Very impressive rock formations you can go and explore at your own risk.

Successful pest control. Possums are considered a pest in New Zealand because they destroy native flora and fauna. At one point, there were supposedly more than 60 million possums in the country!!! Estimates now say numbers have reduced to 30 million which is still way too much. Why they were introduced in the first place? Who knows...