And so we headed into my last 11 days in NZ. Oh, I figured out why I was a day out on the long road trip. Because I forgot about the night we camped at Lake Paringa after Hokitika. Must’ve been after Franz Josef, and we didn’t have to go far; we were taking our time as the main long stretches were done. The lake was beautiful but had lots of sand flies. A thick soup was prepared for dinner and we just enjoyed the location. Amazing how the lake level rises and falls so quickly. Next morning there were lovely reflections inthe water from the mountains and the low lying clouds.

Back to Wanaka. As the weather had warmed up a bit I was eager to do some cycling. I borrowed Alex’s bike. Brilliant to ride…Good brakes, big tyres and excellent gears. I started shortish by going around the Point and in the direction of Albert Town. Wasn’t sure of distances so I went up from the lake track and onto main roads back into town. Having got the feel of riding on the tracks, the next day I got as far as Albert Town. After a coffee I cycled around the base of Mt Iron and into Wanaka that way. Only about an hour. The next day I got more adventurous and cycled an hour and a half each way to Lake Hawea. Apart from figuring out the start of the track across the campground at Albert Town, it was a straight forward route. Only had to push a couple of times. A lot of the route was alongside a river..so absolutely beautiful. The lake Hawea was closed but I found a place for a coffee beside the petrol station on the main road. The ride back felt even easier.

Following the Hawea ride, and after Gabriella finished work, we drove over to Mt Iron and climbed it. I think it only takes 25 minutes but is a steep climb most of the way. Having the bike meant I could get to the new New World supermarket in the industrial estate easily. Then I could pass by Gabriella’s office for a quick visit. Otherwise, time was spent going into town ; meeting up occasionally at Lalaland after work. I did my own going to coffee houses or bars. One evening we went to a quiz night at Ground Up…huge fun.

Some of the other fun things that happened…. I think on a Sat and Sun morning, Alex and I went to the Hawea 9 hole golf course for a round. Good fun as I hadn’t played golf for around 8 years. The first time we tied but the second time Alex beat me by 10 shots. Very casual and enjoyable . We did a couple of wine tasting visits. Gabriella and I went to Aitkens Folly on the other side of town. Just a back room basically. Later we met up with Alex and went to Rippons vineyard….a little bit further…which overlooks Wanaka.

One evening we held a bbq at the house for a bunch of friends. Alex bbqd a huge joint of pork to make pulled pork. Guests contributed dishes and great fun was had by all. Alex bought special steak for my penultimate dinner…forgotten the steak name again !! Gabriella treated me to an excellent curry at Ashrafs on my last night. What I did do for the house was mow their lawn and lots of weeding. I like that kind of thing…

Almost forgot my biggest adventure which Almost killed me !! My fourth cycle ride was to Glendhu Bay. Alex warned me that it was tough in parts, but actually what I found was that it was tough most of the way. Either the up slopes were steep or some of the down slopes were unrideable because of being to rocky. Well I did make it eventually after 2 hours. But I was stopping to take pics and videos. An amazing ride along the Millennium track which followed the lake shore all the way to Glendhu. Obviously I chose the tarmac road back to Wanaka; only took me 45 mins, but it took a couple of days to recover from that ride.

Thurs 17th. My return day to England. Gabriella drove me to Queenstown. Firstly via Teddy’s which is Alex’s other job which will probably in future be his main job. Then I treated Gabriella to a snack lunch near the airport before I was dropped off. Sad to have to say goodbye but I had had such a fantastic time that it was also a very Happy farewell. Check in etc etc. At least no changes to my route this time so it QT to Sydney and beyond. What a NZ experience and so special to see Gabriella again.