Day 15
Distance traveled: 142km
Haast to Wanaka Journey
The way to Wanaka from Haast is breathtakingly scenic. You will go up the Haast Pass where you flank the Haast River for the first part of the trip. The second part is picture perfect. It brings you alongside Lake Wanaka where you can see the town at the very far end of the lake. Just when you think you are sticking by the lake, a road at The Neck brings you to yet another beautiful water body, Lake Hawea.
Lake Hawea Holiday Park (Accommodation)So we found ourselves at Lake Hawea Holiday Park (our review here), a wonderful lodging with huge green spaces for the next 4 nights. We unloaded our belongings and food in the fridge and headed straight to Wanaka.
Kai Whakapai (Restaurant)
We were famished and this was a mighty decent place to get a pizza and a beer. It overlooks Lake Wanaka and there are loads of folks on the sidewalk on a good day.
There's a good vibe about the place. Even though my kids were up to their naughty tricks, they made friends with a local bloke and a grandma who was airlifted out of Kaikoura.
Wanaka Beach (Place to Visit - Free)
On a nice sunny day, Lake Wanaka beachfront is welcoming. There were loads of folks just soaking in the sun. Even though it was around evening time, we grabbed ourselves a paddle boat from Wanaka Kayaks, a boat rental service right at the shore.
Paddling around the lake is great fun, more so if your kids are doing it for the first time (like us!). It's a wonderful spot that should not be missed when you visit this town.
Day 16
Wanaka Playground (Place to Visit - Free)
There are days when you don't want to maximize every second and just want to enjoy the moment. This was one of them. We brought our kids to have some fun at the Wanaka Playground that's just next to Lake Wanaka. It helps when there are tons of activities and this is certainly a good place for parents to let their kids run loose.
Yohei Cafe (Restaurant)
This is a sushi place that's just opposite New World. The price is decent and so is the food. It is located in Spencer House, the very first mall I had seen since Christchurch (and that was on Day 2).
New World (Supermaket)
Believe it or not, this was the first big supermarket we had visited since Hokitika, a town we had visited 5 days back. Yes, that town was 419km away and we had finally come to civilization, that I would define as a place with sufficiently large supermarket such as this! This is a big place and is a great place to restock on groceries. You cannot imagine how happy we were to have such variety of food. The past few days were more a rationing exercise to ensure we had a decent amount of groceries still with us. If you are heading north up the West Coast, ensure that you restock! I cannot emphasize this more.
Day 17
Puzzle World Wanaka (Place to Visit)
Price - NZD 20 an adult
Opening hours - 8am - 5pm(Winter) / 5.30pm(Summer)
This is tourist attraction that is well worth the visit. There are 2 main areas - The Great Maze and The Illusion Rooms. For NZD 20, you can go to both.
The Great Maze is really fun. There are four colored corners and you have to reach all 4 corners - Blue, Red, Green and Yellow. We took about 80 minutes to do so though we're told the average is 60 :) If you think that was peanuts and you need a challenge, you can search for the colored corners in a fixed stipulated order.
The Illusion Rooms are all indoors and they all amaze you with something unexpected. Below, it looks like a common room. Look at the folks on the left and right side. Seem possible to you?
Day 18
Lake Hawea War Memorial (Place to Visit - Free)We had spent the past 3 days in Wanaka so we took it easy and visited the nearby Lake Hawea Town, just a stone's throw away from our lodging at Lake Hawea Holiday Park.
Closest to SH6 is a War Memorial erected by Lake Hawea residents to Kiwis fallen during the Great War. It's a scenic place where you can view the lake and the majestic mountains that surround it.
Hawea Community Centre (Place to Visit - Free)
Right in the small town of Lake Hawea lies a Community Centre. There's a library, tennis courts, some lawns and surprise surprise, a playground!
Sailz Restaurant & Bar (Restaurant)
I think there were like 2 restaurants in the entire town. Sailz is a cozy outlet where there's an accompanying store within. The food there is alright and it's worth a visit. They do fish n chips takeaways in case you're asking.
Distance traveled: 142km
Haast to Wanaka Journey
The way to Wanaka from Haast is breathtakingly scenic. You will go up the Haast Pass where you flank the Haast River for the first part of the trip. The second part is picture perfect. It brings you alongside Lake Wanaka where you can see the town at the very far end of the lake. Just when you think you are sticking by the lake, a road at The Neck brings you to yet another beautiful water body, Lake Hawea.
Lake Hawea Holiday Park (Accommodation)So we found ourselves at Lake Hawea Holiday Park (our review here), a wonderful lodging with huge green spaces for the next 4 nights. We unloaded our belongings and food in the fridge and headed straight to Wanaka.
Kai Whakapai (Restaurant)
We were famished and this was a mighty decent place to get a pizza and a beer. It overlooks Lake Wanaka and there are loads of folks on the sidewalk on a good day.
There's a good vibe about the place. Even though my kids were up to their naughty tricks, they made friends with a local bloke and a grandma who was airlifted out of Kaikoura.
Wanaka Beach (Place to Visit - Free)
On a nice sunny day, Lake Wanaka beachfront is welcoming. There were loads of folks just soaking in the sun. Even though it was around evening time, we grabbed ourselves a paddle boat from Wanaka Kayaks, a boat rental service right at the shore.
Paddling around the lake is great fun, more so if your kids are doing it for the first time (like us!). It's a wonderful spot that should not be missed when you visit this town.
Day 16
Wanaka Playground (Place to Visit - Free)
There are days when you don't want to maximize every second and just want to enjoy the moment. This was one of them. We brought our kids to have some fun at the Wanaka Playground that's just next to Lake Wanaka. It helps when there are tons of activities and this is certainly a good place for parents to let their kids run loose.
Yohei Cafe (Restaurant)
This is a sushi place that's just opposite New World. The price is decent and so is the food. It is located in Spencer House, the very first mall I had seen since Christchurch (and that was on Day 2).
New World (Supermaket)
Believe it or not, this was the first big supermarket we had visited since Hokitika, a town we had visited 5 days back. Yes, that town was 419km away and we had finally come to civilization, that I would define as a place with sufficiently large supermarket such as this! This is a big place and is a great place to restock on groceries. You cannot imagine how happy we were to have such variety of food. The past few days were more a rationing exercise to ensure we had a decent amount of groceries still with us. If you are heading north up the West Coast, ensure that you restock! I cannot emphasize this more.
Day 17
Puzzle World Wanaka (Place to Visit)
Price - NZD 20 an adult
Opening hours - 8am - 5pm(Winter) / 5.30pm(Summer)
This is tourist attraction that is well worth the visit. There are 2 main areas - The Great Maze and The Illusion Rooms. For NZD 20, you can go to both.
The Great Maze is really fun. There are four colored corners and you have to reach all 4 corners - Blue, Red, Green and Yellow. We took about 80 minutes to do so though we're told the average is 60 :) If you think that was peanuts and you need a challenge, you can search for the colored corners in a fixed stipulated order.
The Illusion Rooms are all indoors and they all amaze you with something unexpected. Below, it looks like a common room. Look at the folks on the left and right side. Seem possible to you?
Day 18
Lake Hawea War Memorial (Place to Visit - Free)We had spent the past 3 days in Wanaka so we took it easy and visited the nearby Lake Hawea Town, just a stone's throw away from our lodging at Lake Hawea Holiday Park.
Closest to SH6 is a War Memorial erected by Lake Hawea residents to Kiwis fallen during the Great War. It's a scenic place where you can view the lake and the majestic mountains that surround it.
Hawea Community Centre (Place to Visit - Free)
Right in the small town of Lake Hawea lies a Community Centre. There's a library, tennis courts, some lawns and surprise surprise, a playground!
Sailz Restaurant & Bar (Restaurant)
I think there were like 2 restaurants in the entire town. Sailz is a cozy outlet where there's an accompanying store within. The food there is alright and it's worth a visit. They do fish n chips takeaways in case you're asking.
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