Feb 25, 2013 - Feeding the Dolphins in Wanaka

We arrived in Wanaka in the afternoon, we were staying at Base a chain we used a lot in Australia. Us 6 girls shared a dorm, which is really handy as it was Amy’s birthday tomorrow so was nice for her to wake up with the girls we have been with. In Wanaka there is a huge lake where you can go swimming, hire a boat and feed the dolphins. So we were told by our bus driver that dolpins lived in the water and you can buy fish flavoured bread from the tourist information. So all very excited 10 of us went to the information centre – we now have...

Feb 19, 2013 - Wanaka

This was the highlight of our trip so far, we did a 12,000 ft skydive overlooking the lakes of Wanaka and the mountains... it was incredible. we had a legend in our group, a northern 60 year old doing the dive with us too; living on the motto of YOLO.

Dec 23, 2012 - Christmas in NZ

Hey everyone quick update here, dont worry I realized last one was more of a rant at some points than an update. So for the Christmas break I was invited to Wanaka with my two Kiwi brothers family, whom I have met many times before to stay with them at their summer house in Wanaka. It has been just a blast as another family is their as well, and the weather has been just fantastic! Weird being able to be in shorts and shirt, swimming and kayaking in the Middle of December. But I am fully embracing the Kiwi Christmas! I am having a blast...

Nov 23, 2012 - Day 20 Oamaru to Omarama - Visit Arid MacKenzie Basin; Look for World's Rarest Shorebird, The Black Stilt

Today, we woke up to a drizzle of rain. That soon was left behind, as we headed inland to the arid MacKenzie Basin. The landscape was filled with glacial silt-colored lakes and streams and snow-capped mountains. Throughout the day we had awesome views of Mount Cook (Aorangi), New Zealand's highest mountain. The focus of the day was the Black Stilt, the world's rarest shorebird, with a population of about 200. This bird's population is declining, due to loss of habitat and its hibridization with the Pied (Black-winged) Stilt. We found one...

Nov 18, 2012 - Day 15 Franz Josef to Wanaka - Travel Towards the Township of Haast; See Fiordland Crested Penguins

The day began with a hike to the Franz Josef Glacier. No new birds were found, but it was an enjoyable hike. The glacier has receded significantly and by 2020, it will not be visible from the overlook we hiked to. In route to Wanaka, we hiked out to a coastal beach. Although it was a long hike, it was well worth it. The beach was beautiful and we saw a Fiordland Crested Penguin coming in on the surf to the beach. It was too far away for pictures, but we would see them better, later on. The scenery is beautiful as we drive to our...

Nov 8, 2012 - Adventures in Wanaka

Nov. 7, 2012 We arrived in Wanaka (pronounced “wanna ka”) yesterday with the intent of taking the bus to Te Anau today. This is really the first time we have had difficulties in scheduling our trips. Try as we might we could not get our bus schedule to work. We successfully booked to Queenstown but the trip on the Te Anau showed closed. After trying to figure it out on the internet and with the hostel owner helping, we contacted Intercity. It seems that the list of passengers from Queenstown to Te Anau had already been picked up by the bus...

Jun 21, 2012 - South Island New Zealand

I decided it was time to see some snow again after spending the past year and a bit in summer. The cold was a bit of a shock to the system, but New Zealand is an absolute stunning country. From the lovely lakes to the majestic mountains, New Zealand is a photographers delight.

May 29, 2012 - Mrs Bell is a lot more adventurous than Miss Weston

The day has come where I prove to everyone that Mrs Bell is going to be slightly different to Miss Weston. This has been proven in two ways today:- 1) I willingly road a small aircraft with only 6 other people in it to a massive 15000 feet and then jumped out!!!! It took us 15 minutes to get up there and the views were amazing. I was strapped to this strong tall guy called Boris and when he asked me to sit on his lap in the aeroplane I told him I was a married lady and I didn't think that was appropriate, particularly as my husband was sat...

May 28, 2012 - Drive to Lake Wanaka

Although we were both sad to be leaving Queenstown we were really interested to see what Lake Wanaka could offer so after another enjoyable breakfast we headed to collect our hire car. We picked up our silver corolla and some last minute snacks for the journey. We had heard that the best way to travel was through Arrowtown with a quick stop off there, then over the Crown Range Road to Wanaka. Before Arrowtown we stopped off at Shotover river again to take a picture of the bridge and the jet boats one last time then up the mountain we went....

Feb 25, 2012 - Wanaka

Fra Te Anau gik turen, over Queenstown, op til en lille hyggelig by ved navn Wanaka. Her var vi ude i en ”forlystelsespark”, der går under navnet Puzzling World. Det er en lille udstilling, som går ud på at vise hvordan menneskets syn kan snydes af videnskaben. Det er igen svært at beskrive, men igen må i jo tage et smut forbi Google eller vente til vi for lagt billeder op derfra. Derudover rummer den en stor labyrint, som er bygget til at tage et voksent menneske mellem ½ og 1 time at gennemføre. Det var faktisk sjovt at prøve, og mere...

Feb 1, 2012 - Wanaka, and its still not a spellin mistake

Leaving the wine area of Bannockburn was a bit hard but at least later in the trip we will be visiting a lot of different places that produce the nectar so I can live with it. We set off to our next destination which was the area around lake Wanaka which had a really nice write up about it being in a really beautiful spot but to be honest there are so many of those in NZ that there is a danger of being a bit complacent. There was the small matter of a place called Cromwell on the way to Wanaka, originally we were going to stay there rather...

Jul 2, 2011 - NZ Blog Six - Wanaka

Tuesday 28 June 2011 Queenstown - Wanaka Up and at ‘em ‘fairly’ early packing and getting organised to head off to Wanaka. However first we decided to try the local cuisine so we breakfasted at Fergburger’s which is a famous burger stop, although more for the late nighters on the way home than mornings but who cares when they have brekkie burgers called the Dawn Horn. Huge burger of bacon, eggs, lettuce, red onions, beetroot, avo and a couple of sauces – it was really good. After that gastronomic experience we headed out toward Wanaka and...