Another day surrounded by beauty

It was yet another clear day in the Maniatoto area. It was a nice drive from Dansey’s Pass Hotel which is at the bottom of the road that takes you over the pass. The road back to Naseby and Ranfurly is on relatively flat land with a landscape that is predominantly beige in colour. Since January they have had so much significant rain and the parched landscape shows it. In a stark way it is rather beautiful especially in the morning light.

Bev's new friend - an old sheep dog at the hotel

We stopped at Ranfurly for a coffee and breakfast. The village is like something out of the fifties apart from the mostly modern utes of which there are many. Life is slow and quiet apart from the infrequent travellers and of course the riders from the cycle trail. There is a wonderful little museum there full of retro memorabilia and well worth a look. Music from the era adds to the atmosphere.

Near Naseby in the early morning

Our primary destination was Wanaka. On the way towards Alexandra there were several large dairy farms that were green and seemed incongruous in the largely dry and golden landscape. The water they use must be significant because there are dams everywhere.

On the road from Cromwell to Wanaka, compared to the last time I drove that road nearly twenty years ago, there are wall to wall vineyards on one side of the road and on the other there are orchards. Years ago, it was just all sheep.

My sister and her friends have bought land in a new estate on the edge of Lake Hawea. Forty years ago when I passed through there, it consisted of a few cribs and that was about all. So, it was with some surprise when we went to find the section to see that it has boomed with new developments everywhere. It feels like a new build suburb in Auckland (except for the amazing view of the mountains everyone has).

Hawea section - suburbia in Central

We stopped on the section to take some photos of it for Margaret. I met a couple of builders nearby who asked if I was the owner of the section. They chatted with me about the area and their happiness for where they have chosen to live. They said they had more than enough work just in that area let alone Wanaka which is only 12 kilometres away. Apparently, the area comprises families coming from the larger northern cities, particularly Auckland.

Then a man from the house next door came over to ask me if I was the buyer who had beaten him to the section. I told him that I was the brother of one of the owners. He told us that he had come from Auckland and that he should moved sooner. His wife was able to work from home and he had transferred from a job with a building company in Auckland. Their children were happy at the school nearby and were enjoying the novelty of taking a bus there. He said there were lots of activities available in Hawea, and for him it felt like he had become part of a community which was something he hadn’t really experienced in Auckland. My sister will be happy because he is of the view that her section will have already appreciated given the other new sections are on much smaller sections.

Wanaka beachfront on a mild autumn day

Wanaka, where we had some lunch, looked like a it had been completely rebuilt. About the only thing that felt the same was the foreshore. I have a memory of the small holiday town from the seventies where I went several times with friends. During the summer holidays it was full of people holidaying and then in the off season it was very quiet. No longer it seems. There are fancy hotels and the like dotted all around the place.

Relaxing in preparation for tasting wine

After some lunch we went to the picture-perfect Rippon Vineyard where we had a tasting of several of their wines which were extremely nice. The view of the lake was to die for. I had been there some twenty years ago and I was sure that the vineyard was several kilometres out of Wanaka, so it was a surprise to find it on the outskirts of the town. I expected it to be quiet, so I was surprised that there were people already tasting and then while we were there two other groups of people arrived. The wines we tasted were superb with Bev liking all the range that we tasted.

Looking toward Wanaka from Rippon

It was time to return to Queenstown and drop off the rental car. We took the route through the Cadronna Valley and over the Crown Range which used to be a slow and dusty route. No longer is it the preserve of only the odd farmhouse and the iconic Cadronna Hotel. There was accommodation around the hotel, a result of the ski fields nearby. Also, Wanaka township seems to have drifted up the valley. The road while quite windy, is well sealed and seems to be the main route between Queenstown and Wanaka, a contrast to thirty or forty years ago when it was the alternate, slow, scenic and dusty route.

That night we ate at the lovely little Italian Cafe, Giovi, close to our hotel. Bev’s spaghetti Bolognese was superb.