After the overwhelming and exhausting trip to the Matukituki Valley regenerative days were in Wanaka.
Wanaka: strategically similar to Queenstown minus the hordes of drunken tourists.
The regeneration program in four stages or days:
1. Chill out
2. Disc golfing
3. The "small" hiking day
4. The big hiking excursion
Day 1:
Sleep on, rest, go shopping, do laundry and, especially after days, wash yourself again. IRGs. For that you also go to the swimming pool. And then to the cinema: "Free solo". Thumbs up from me. Especially if you love the Yosemite Valley and also the guy is just screaming weird! The cinema itself also great: a few cinema seats and otherwise a colorful mix of old sofas.
Day 2:
Meet with the disc golf locals and then there's Martin, Moe 'Doerken. It was clear again that I would meet familiar faces in disc sports at the other end of the world. Not for the first time. A great day: first Lismore Park, then Eely Point, then cooling off in the lake (heat wave, over 30 degrees and south of the South Island ..), then go for a drink. Perfect day of relaxation, did really well. Wanaka has a 1a disc golf community and I played a round with Hayley, the New Zealand champion.
Day 3:
Hike on Roy's Peak. This is the IT summit everyone is making, though not without it. 1300 vertical meters are then up (and then down again) to go and so at least half of the people is not quite up.
But one of the most famous selfie spots in New Zealand. There you have to queue first ... Well not me, I'm on to the summit ... but the scene is already bizarre (even with the photos here).
The view from the top of Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea is worth the effort!
/ And then you talk to the top guy with one who realizes that the Routeburn hike was his favorite, especially the Harris saddle piece. Wait a minute, was not this one hike that I canceled because of the weather?!?
Day 4:
Excursion to the Routeburn Valley with hike to Harris Saddle and Conical Hill.
Actually, I did not want to drive any routes twice or back against my direction ... But I really wanted to do this hike! And 2.5 hours driving is also a joke! So…
The track on Lake Wakatipu to behind Glenorchy is very picturesque anyway.
The hike was well worth it: Routeburn-Flats, then the valley narrows, past the waterfalls, up to Harris Lake to the saddle and then to Conical Hill. From there you have a beautiful view along the Hollyford River Valley! Unfortunately, the weather was nice, but not perfect. Due to the thick clouds, the photos have a lower contrast than the eye can do in nature ...
Funnily, at this point, I was only a few miles from Marian Lake (which I was a week earlier) ... but by car, that's 400 kilometers outside!
And again so two ordinary hiking days in a row ... I just can not help it.
