We arrived in Wanaka in the early afternoon with just enough time to take a refreshing dip in the lake. We ate a delicious, but pricey dinner at the Reef restaurant. It is on the main street upstairs and has stunning views of the lake and mountains. That night we went to the highly original Cinema Paradiso. The owner is a crazy Scottish movie fanatic. He greets everyone at the door and delivers a stand-up comedy introduction to each film he shows. The theater itself is littered with donated sofas and large, puffy pillows. There is even an old, yellow Morris Minor car in the theater for moviegoers to sit in. He stops the movie in the middle for an intermission where patrons can purchase huge, warm chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven. It was quite an experience. We watched the Will Smith movie, 'I am Legend'. It was really good and it made us afraid to walk home in the dark...
The next day we drove over an unpaved road and across some fords to get to the start of the Rob Roy trail. It was a beautiful, but steep alpine trek up to the Rob Roy glacier where we were greeted by cheeky Khea birds hoping for handouts. They look like large brown parrots with sharp, black beaks. They have bright red feathers on the underside of each wing. I guess they cause campers all sorts of trouble as they steal things like hiking boots to use for nest building. However, I thoroughly enjoyed watching their amusing antics beside the glacier.
No comments:
Post a Comment