Alexandra to Wanaka

We worked from Monday to Friday on a vineyard called 3 miners in Alexandra. Our job was to leaf pluck the leaves around the grapes so sunlight could get to them. It was the most boring job ever and we only lasted 1 week rather than the 2 we were supposed to because of this!

We stayed around Alexandra on Saturday and Sunday, we camped just out of town at a lake where we fished. We went to a lovely cafe for brunch and played tennis, and went to the local cinema. The cinema is run by volunteers and only held about 30 people, a great facility in a small town!

On Sunday evening we drove back to Cromwell and camped out next to the lake there.

In the morning we got our rod fixed (it had broken) set off to Wanaka.
We decided on the way that we would do a big walk in the Mt aspiring national park, based on recommendations from Marion our old next door neighbour, so we stopped at the DOC info centre in Wanaka to pick up our overnight passes for the huts we would stay in and to check the weather etc.
In Wanaka we parked at ruby island and sunbathed and fished.
I have also started doing yoga so try to do half an hour every day in the nice places we stop.
Rosanne came to meet us in the afternoon and took us to her favourite burrito van and local brewery. It was really nice to meet her and see Wanaka from a locals perspective.

The next day we got everything ready for our 3 day tramp and then went horse riding with Rosie after lunch. It was great fun! She took us into the Cardrona valley (which is just outside Wanaka and is where you can ski in the winter) and the scenery of beautiful. It’s beautiful all around Wanaka too.
We walked, trotted and even cantered on the horses! It was a great way to see the countryside.
Rosie then took us to the local distillery which is new in Cardrona. We did a tasting of their vodka, gin and fruit liqueurs. We couldn’t taste any whisky as it isn’t ready yet! Everything was so nice but very expensive but we were tempted to treat ourselves to a bottle, but had a cocktail instead. We then went to the Cardrona hotel which is the 2nd oldest pub in NZ. It was the best and nicest pub we have been in so far. Very ‘oldy worldy’ with a lovely outdoor courtyard, we ate and the food was good too - Cardrona basically only has a few houses, the distillery and the pub but I now want to live here!