On Monday, four members of the Wanaka Crew spent a couple hours kayaking on Lake Wanaka.  What a blast!  Photo credits go to Alys, Danella, and Joanna as I left my camera and phone on shore.  Information about Lake Wanaka was taken from various online sources.

Lake Wanaka covers an area of 192 km² (74 sq mi) and is New Zealand’s fourth largest lake.  It is estimated to be more than 300 m (980 ft) deep.  The clarity of the water is remarkable, especially to one who is used to the New River and Claytor Lake, which are full of organic matter.  The name Wanaka is Maori and means ‘The place of Anaka’, a local tribal chief.

At its greatest extent, which is roughly along a north-south axis, the lake is 42 k / 26 miles long. Its widest point, at the southern end, is 10 k / 6 miles.  The lake’s western shore is…

With Alys’ husband due to fly into the Queenstown airport, the 7 of us piled into two vehicles and drove the 68k into the city.

Can you guess who my seat mate was?

Along the way, we passed Bradrona, the famous “bra fence of Cardrona”.  The collection of bras started around 1999, when four bras mysteriously appeared overnight on a fence along the Cardrona Valley Road.  It wasn’t until an unknown bra thief began cutting them away under the shadow of the night that the fence gained its notoriety.  Every time they were cut away, even more were added, and the bra count has reached over 7000.  The infamous fence was rebranded to “Bradrona” in 2015 to raise money for breast cancer and $30,000 has been raised by people leaving donations in a box at the site.

What a powerful monument to say the least.  While we did not leave our bras, we did…

After organizing 7 people and packing up 2 cars, we were off to Wanaka (sounds like Monica or Hanukkah).  As is typical for New Zealand roads, the route was curvy and the scenery beautiful.

A brief stop along the way allowed Siddy to get a(nother) treat.

By 2pm, we were ready for a late lunch, and Monteith’s Brewery Bar in Alexandra was the perfect stop.  We enjoyed puppy friendly al fresco dining accompanied by Murphy’s Irish Stout (for me) and followed by a yummy flat white.

Soon enough, we were back on the road but another brief stop, this time at the Clyde Dam, offered some nice photo ops. The Clyde Dam, New Zealand’s third largest hydroelectric dam, is built on the Clutha River near the town of Clyde

With 45 minutes to go, we let Siddy enjoy the breeze.

And THEN we arrived at our temporary home.

What an…

After a wonderful day Experiencing Dunedin and Otago Harbour, we slowed our pace with a lovely walk around the University of Otago.

With the first students being accepted in July 1871, it is the oldest university in New Zealand, and the third oldest in Oceania.

With over 20,000 students, the University offers Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral degrees in Health Sciences, other Sciences, Business, and Humanities.

I’m not sure which was more impressive: the architecture or the trees!  The stone, while of a darker color, reminded me of Hokie Stone.

The walk was peaceful, offered wonderful scenery, and was the perfect way to end our day.

Pauline arranged for the most fun outing: a 5 person trike ride around Dunedin and Otago Harbour!  This bike chick loved it, as did everyone else.  What a blast!

We met our guide Andrew, owner of Experience Dunedin at The Octagon in the Central Business District of Dunedin, and soon we were off.

Andrew obligingly hit the gas and we found ourselves hooting out loud with excitment!

The roads were curvy and changed elevation frequently, and I was reminded of riding back home in southwest Virginia.  Well, except for the “wrong side” of the road thing.

The views of the harbour were incredible and these photos do not do them justice.

Alys took some great photos with her selfie stick, so please visit her blog to see more!

Thank you, Pauline, for arranging for this fun, fun outing, and to Alys for treating us!

When we finally went to bed, I can honestly say that I don’t remember my head hitting the pillow.   Eight solid hours of sleep later, I was wide awake and feeling pretty good.  Even still, it takes more than 8 hours to recover from that long day of travel, and I was glad that we had a low key day spent exploring Pauline’s world, including her family.

We awoke to see Danella’s patio garden.  Even though the day was overcast, the flowers beckoned and my camera was soon put into action.  I’ve never taken my laptop on a trip before but I knew that I would want to share photos from the camera, not just the phone.

Danella provided coffee and toast (perfect with fresh tomotoes!) and soon Pauline and Siddy joined us.  That Siddy! He is adored by everyone that he meets.  What a sweet puppy!

After a…

The 40 hour travel day was worth it!  And we’ve only been here 2 days.

Often times blogging equals journaling and the posts from this journey will definitely serve that purpose.  I want to look back when I’m 80 and be able to remember this trip of a lifetime.  Join me as you like, and of course, feel free to comment, too.

The first leg of the trip had me leaving my home in Radford and driving to Roanoke at 4am.  A four hour layover at Dulles Airport outside of Washington, DC gave me the opportunity to enjoy the scenery and an airport bar / restaurant.

The five hour flight to San Franciso was uneventful, and soon I was having a joyful reunion with Alys.

We were both so impressed with Air New Zealand.   The plane was enourmous and new, the service from the flight attendants was wonderful, and the…