I noticed during our meeting that the kitchen was large and well set out, with 4 separate work spaces and ovens. I asked about the possibility of having a cooking class that could become dinner one night and whether there was anyone in town who ran classes.
The manager thought for a moment and then said, Bruno! I'm sure Bruno's wife would do that, before calling and confirming that yes indeed, Bruno's wife would be delighted to do a class and we should definitely go up and meet with them.
By this time I was thinking, great! An Italian cooking class, that should be fun. We were told the place was easy to find, just up on the main street on the left as you're heading out of town and it's called Sasanoki's.
Well that didn't sound very Italian like, however, off we went to Sasanoki's and of course, there was nothing Italian about a Japanese restaurant! Needless to say, Bruno wasn't Italian either. However, Bruno is a great chef and the food is absolutely delicious. If you're ever in Wanaka, I recommend paying them a visit.
The Wanaka Agricultural and Pastoral Show was also on that weekend and is apparently a big draw card for the region running over the Friday/Saturday. Our line of thinking was to check out the show on Saturday evening, see some of the horse events and enjoy a wander. I had another couple of meetings in the morning and we wanted to do a little sightseeing so it made sense to do the A & P Show in the evening. You know, cram as much in as possible!
I realised that first night in Wanaka that the diary I'd offloaded at the airport had all the contact details for these next meetings. Names, phone numbers, you name it... all in the diary in the boot of my car at Gold Coast Airport! Right next to the little notepad thingy, so we were completely technology free. I sincerely hoped no one had tried contacting me to change anything!
Our next meeting was over breakfast at a place called the Urban Grind. Thankfully the person I was meeting with turned up and again was lovely and ever so helpful. Breakfast at the Urban Grind is great and their hot chocolate comes with a stick of Whitman's chocolate. Perfect for the chocoholic!
By late morning, we had both scheduled meetings done and dusted so the time was ours for exploring. We decided to head towards Queenstown via Cromwell and return via the Crown Range and Cardrona.
There always seems to be wildflowers growing along the Cromwell road in places, particularly the beautiful Californian Poppies. We stopped to have a look at Lake Dunstan and of course, pick a couple of wildflowers. I had the grand idea of pressing a couple in my diary.
A little further along and we came to the Roaring Meg, the turbulent stream that drives the hydro electric power station and merges with the Kawarua River.
We did bit of a drive through in Queenstown, however, Queenstown always seems to be busy and it can be difficult to find parking. So we basically used it as the loop to head back onto the Crown range road, with a stop in a little place called Arrowtown.
Arrowtown is like taking a step back in time. It's a very touristy little town, however, it's quaint with it's older buildings. It was a gold mining area, so there are a few shops that sell gold in the main street and there's also an old fashioned sweet shop that sells locally made fudge.
Arrowtown has the backdrop of the mountains and tree lined streets, so is quite picturesque. We stopped at a little pub in the main street for lunch and it was no hardship to enjoy the scenery while we relaxed.
With a spot of shopping and lunch done, we were back on our way. One of my favourite parts of the Crown Range drive is the hairpin bends located at the Arrowtown end of the range. They're like a zigzag with their tight bends and are impressive to look back on from the viewing point.
It's quite a mountainous area and for me, was a little disconcerting to see a plane flying between the mountains towards Queenstown. You can just make out the plane in the centre of the second pic below.
If you look closely in this next photo, you can see the Queenstown airport runway in about the centre of the pic, just in front of the lake! This pic was taken from a lookout at the top of the Crown Range, where the views are incredible.
The Crown Range road is the highest road in NZ and it reaches an altitude of 1121 metres. During winter time it's often covered in snow and ice, so can be quite a treacherous drive. While the distance is shorter than going via Cromwell, the driving time is a little longer due to the range and it takes a little over an hour in good driving conditions.
We were probably three quarters of the way back to Wanaka when the fuel light came on in the car. I suddenly realised that we'd driven from Christchurch to Wanaka, checked out Wanaka, then driven to Queenstown and almost back again on one tank of fuel!!
I knew the township of Cardrona was coming up, but couldn't recall whether there was a fuel station. My gut feeling was there wasn't but one can live in hope. We stopped and I went into the local pub (it was about the only thing open) to check on the fuel station status and as thought, there was none.
The guy was somewhat amused and reassured me we were only about 20 kms out of Wanaka and it was a downhill drive most of the way. We managed to get back and I'm sure the car sniffed it's way into the first fuel station we saw.
That done, we decided to take a look at the Clutha River which you cross as you come into town. Again, the scenery is lovely and the river is fast flowing.
By this time it was getting late in the day, so we figured it was high time we went and checked out the show. I thought there was also a rodeo on at nearby Lake Hawea, however, this is where is pays to read all the info about events. We discovered the show ran from 8am - 5pm both days! So we turned up in time to see it closing. Talk about disappointment.
It was just on sunset when we were in Lake Hawea and I have to say that mother nature turned it on for us. The sunset colours were stunning! My trusty little camera did not do justice to the sunset at all, however, you do get bit of an idea.
Our change of plans gave us the opportunity to sample more of the fine cuisine Wanaka has to offer. This time we tried the Spice Room. The place was packed, always a good sign and once again, the food was fantastic.
We rounded off our evening with dessert and a drink at one of the local places overlooking the lake. There are a few restaurants and pubs opposite the lake front and the atmosphere is always great.
We had a rather early start the next morning as our flight left mid-afternoon, meaning we had to check in by early afternoon. We left when it wasn't quite light and somehow, I managed to miss the turn off. I'm still not quite sure how I managed that, but I did and we had gone about half an hour out of our way before I realised that something wasn't right. So of course we had to back track and start over basically.
Our trip back was fairly straight forward with only a couple of quick stops for photo's. I can't help myself! I have to soak up every moment of this beautiful country. Both these next pics were taken at Lake Pukaki, just before Tekapo.
Despite almost running out of fuel again, (something I never do yet did twice in one trip!) we made it to Christchurch just on time. We'd certainly made the most of our 63 hours in NZ, 36 of which were in Wanaka. Business, pleasure and sightseeing all rolled into one.
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