Two walks

Today I said goodbye to Rosie’s Backpacker and Homestay in Te Anau and drove to Queenstown for a 4-hour visit. I’m starting to get used to driving on the left side of the road.

Queenstown is another gorgeous city in New Zealand. I walked around the small city and enjoyed the storefronts. I was trying to find food and came across an empanada place that serves their own homemade chimichurri and sauerkraut. The guy working the stand, Felipe, was from Chile and he was very friendly. He said he loves New Zealand so much, he doesn’t plan on going back to his native Santiago. After I ate two delicious empanadas – one with pork and sauerkraut, and another with chicken, chickpeas, and chorizo – I decided I was ready for some more exploring. Felipe suggested the walk up to where the gondola station is. I took his advice, but before the hike I grabbed an espresso and a chocolate coffee truffle at Patagonia – I made a mental note to come back for their ice cream but my mental notes are not very effective.

The Tiki Trail is a steep uphill forest trail with amazing views of the lake and Queenstown. It took me about an hour to get to the top because I kept stopping to enjoy the vistas. Once I got to the top I sat down to soak in the gorgeous view. Watching the people go down the luge trail was exciting, as little kids had gigantic grins on their faces while flying down the trail while sitting in their parents’ lap on the luge. I made it back down the Tiki Trail in a bit over 30 minutes, since I had to stop for the mountain bike crossings and for some people climbing up the trail.

From the bottom of the trail.

After the hike, I went into a quirky New Zealand store with quirky t-shirts about kiwis and sheep. One of my favorite shirts was about how to prepare a kiwi. One of the ladies at the store told me that they will say "kiwi fruit" anytime they refer to the fruit, but will use the word "kiwi" when referring to the living creature. The other lady at the store was an energetic Brazilian who had been in New Zealand for about 10 years. I was told that there are huge Brazilian communities in Auckland and other New Zealand cities.

Before leaving Queenstown I had to go to Rehab. The 4 hours there had been too much to handle on empanadas and chocolate coffee truffles. At Rehab I bought myself a regular Fearless – a juice with orange, apple, beetroot, and carrots – it was exactly what I needed!

The 1-hour drive to Wanaka was incredibly scenic. I made it quickly to my hostel, checked in and went off to walk up Mt Iron. I was told some of the best Wanaka views on foot and close to the city are up Mt Iron. It was another hour and a half hike, less steep and less strenuous than the Tiki Trail but it was more tiring for me mostly because of the heat!

You see Queenstown offers a very nice cool climate mountain climate, but Wanaka offers a desert climate – yes just an hour away from each other the weather changed so much! In Wanaka I could feel the summer, no need for a fleece jacket or a windbreaker. On Mt Iron’s trail I met an anesthesiologist from southern China. We talked most of our way down about hiking in New Zealand. She told me that she didn’t enjoy Auckland because there weren’t many tracks to hike. I asked her about hiking in China and she told me that she down 7 to 8-hour trails ever Saturday. I realized how much I miss hiking and the days when I used to be out on a trail every other weekend. Sounds like I might have another New Year’s resolution…

Before finishing my fun packed day of walking in Queenstown and in Wanaka, I decided to go to Cinema Paradiso – someone at Rosie’s in Te Anau recommended it. Oh and was it worth it! It is a small two-theater cinema that offers the joys of a full menu, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages that you can enjoy while watching your movie. The theater room has a mix of theater chaises, sofas, couches of all sorts, even an old car where you can seat in to watch the film. I was lucky enough to watch a movie I had wanted to see but missed while I was in LA, Birdman.