TRAVEL TALES
Between Snow-covered Mountain Peaks and Deep Blue Lakes
Hiking on the South Island in New Zealand
I just stood there in awe. The delta of the Matukituki River reminded me of Whitehaven Beach in Australia, the water of the lake with the mountains in the background looked like the fjords in Norway just that I hadn’t been to either of them.
It wasn’t a pretty morning. At least not in the vineyards where we live. The wind was howling and the sky was overcast. But that didn’t stop us from sticking to our plan and going for a hike.
We loaded the backpack with water, some snacks, and our jackets and drove toward Wānaka. David had looked up a trail just a bit past the city and I was gaping out the window as the road was winding between the shore of Lake Wānaka and the mountain on the other side.
Just as we came around the bend spotting the parking lot packed with cars he mentioned ‘it said there it was a popular trail’. So what. There is usually a reason why a trail is used by many.
We tied our hiking boots and hit the trail. The beginning was flat leading past Diamond Lake into the forest at the foothills of Rocky Mountain.
