"Rest day" in Wanaka !!!!!!!

After the hectic weekend in Franz Josef & Fox, followed by the 4 hour drive down to Wanaka, today (Tuesday 5th March) today was to be a chill out day in the sun. By the time we had washed the breakfast pots and walked the short distance to the I site in town it was 9-50. Just enough time to book our places for the 2hr boat trip on Lake Wanaka. There were only 4 of us on it, plus the skipper. The weather was yet again ideal for a trip on the water. It was quite a powerful boat and it didn't hang about on the water. We went about 25 kms down the lake, calling in several of the coves along the way for pictures and a bit of a history lesson on the place. on the way back we were put ashore on Ruby Island and pointed in the direction of a path that we could follow to take in the sites. On returning to the boat some 20 minutes later we were treated to a cuppa and snack which the skipper had prepared for us in a picnic area near by. There was a gas barbi in the picnic area which is free to use. All the Islands have gas barbis that are free to use. This is to stop people lighting fires for cooking. It was a very relaxing 2hrs and quite interesting. The highlight was stopping in one of the coves to photograph Rob Roy glacier flanking mount Aspiring. Rob Roy glacier,while not as well known as Franz Josef & Fox glaciers is bigger than them both. After lunch we visited Puzzling World on the outskirts of town. It had a 2 tier maze. once inside the maze you had to visit a tower in all four corners then find the exit. It is 1.7 kms of walkway if you don't take any wrong turns. It took us 1hour 40minutes to find our way out. The rest of the place was indoors as you will see from the pictures. Across the road from Puzzling World was Mount Iron, towering over the town of Wanaka with it's summit 700 metres above sea level. From the top there are panoramic views of the surrounding lands. It was nearly 6 o'clock so not too hot for a nice gentle stroll before tea. Anne was also up for it, so we bit the bullet. It was quite a steady meandering climb on a dusty path. After 50 minutes we reached the summit. It was quite windy but what a view. The pictures don't do them justice. It took almost as long to descend via a different route. Ready for our tea now.