Rail Trail and Wanaka

Hey hey hey,

Sorry it has been so long since our last post. We have been too busy/lazy (there is such a fine line between busy and lazy and we walk it every day).

Anyways, since we last spoke we have done some pretty cool things. I will start from the beginning and work my way to the present.

About a week ago, we started a four day bike trip on the Otago Central Rail Trail. The trail is a former rail line that was taken out when it became legal to transport produce and wool by road. (Previously, the NZ government banned transport of produce by truck more than 75 km in order to protect the railway). The trail has been open for nine years and is really popular, especially with Kiwis from the north island.

The bike trip was great! The advantage to biking on a rail trail rather than on a road are that the rail trail never has more than a 1/50 slope, so it is never steep. Also, there is no traffic buzzing by all day. Besides the enjoyable biking, the scenery was amazing. It varied between lush farmland to rocky hillsides with mountains in the background. The photos really do not do it justice. We also had fantastic weather, it was 25 degrees all four days with no clouds and no wind.
Besides the great trail and scenery, the little towns that we passed through and stayed in were awesome. The popularity of the rail trail has revived a lot of the small towns in the area and a lot of residents have opened up bed and breakfasts along the trail. On the third night, we stayed in a store building that was built in the late 19th century from mud bricks. It was converted to a bed and breakfast last winter and the owners were really careful to maintain the bricks and the store front. The renovation turned out really well and it was a beautiful place to stay.

The hospitality that we experienced along the trail was also amazing. Everyone was very friendly and helpful and we had a lot of nice conversations with a lot of the locals and people visiting from the north island. We were also impressed with the meals that we had along the trail. We definitely did not expect the high quality dining that we got when we walked into the small town taverns.

Despite the sore legs and butts, the rail trail was definitely an awesome experience.

After the rail trail, we headed west to Wanaka, a small town north west of Queenstown. Wanaka is another town set on a picturesque lake surrounded by mountains. On our first day here, we went to Stuart Landsborough's Puzzling World, an attraction just outside of town. Puzzling World is probably one of the coolest places I have been to (because I am a huge nerd). They have some really cool exhibits, including a room with holograms on display, a room with famous people's faces that follow you as you walk around the room, rooms that play with perspective, and a giant, two story, modern maze that takes about an hour to complete. The also have a cafe where you can sit and play with an assortment of puzzles. Very cool!

Yesterday, we climbed Mt. Roy, a mountain just outside of Wanaka. It was about a three hour climb and a two hour descent. We had good weather and had great views of the surrounding area from the top of the mountain.

Today we are both a little sore and we are just taking it easy. We are going to see a movie later on at Paradiso Cinema, a cinema in town that we have heard a lot about. Each movie starts with an introduction from the owner and there is a cafe inside the theatre where you can get meals at intermission – it is supposed to be very cool.

In a day or two (when we feel recovered enough) we are going to head back down to the Queenstown area to start another tramp in the Rees and Dart valleys. The tramp is pretty highly recommended, especially by locals, so we are looking forward to that.

We hope that you all are well and not too cold (I hear that the weather is warming up),

Erin