March 10

Wanaka

It rained overnight and looked pretty gloomy when I got up. I breakfasted in my unit, organised myself and set off late, about 09.30.

There were clouds over the mountains but it was dry. The air was cooler than yesterday but, as I walked, the clouds thinned, the sun appeared and it warmed up.

The clouds hung over the mountains	I couldn't see much of the lake

I started at the bank, where they were helpful, then had a coffee at one of the lake front cafes - from where I couldn't see much lake - and studied the map. The simplest idea seemed to be a simple circuit of the headland and then to cut across the hill when I got tired.

I set off round the lake, which was much flatter following the redirection of yesterday's winds.

I set off around the lake on the beach ...	... and moved onto a path
The lake looked good
There were some excellent bbqs	Everything was calm

The path was well marked with trees for much of the way and there was the occasional view of the lake. There were shelters, bbqs, public toilets and everything that could be expected of an urban walking trail.

One section was fenced off and marked for pedestrians only, because of slips. Needless to say, this was ignored by the cyclists. In some places, the path came quite close to the road and there were lots of very smart houses in evidence. Even the benches offered good photo opportunities. The signs were good, indicating access and egress points. This did fall apart when I was trying to leave the trail and got lost in a caravan park.
	No cyclists here please
The path came near the road ...
...and then returned to the lake	The signs were excellent

A friendly local with a small, noisy schnauzer, gave me directions and I followed a long gravel road, which entered a new subdivision before linking to a tar sealed road with houses on one side and empty sections on the other. By now, I had done about ten kilometres on the walk and there were dark clouds ahead.

	I left the caravan park ...
The dark clouds approached	... and entered a new subdivision

Shortly after re-joining the main road, a very sharp shower started. I unpacked my waterproof and packed my camera. The rain continued for between ten and fifteen minutes, in which time I got quite damp.

By the time I reached the town centre, the rain had stopped and there was a little brightness in the sky. I stopped at the bank, conducted my business - my experience with the counter staff at ANZ has normally been very good - and walked the last couple of kilometres home. I had completed about 18 kilometres and was reasonably tired.

After a rest, I set off to the huge New World to buy some provisions, having decided to eat at the motel rather than go to any of the less than exciting restaurants in town. I fought my way through the major roadworks on the road out of town, completely failed to find any way of reaching the supermarket and drove several kilometres out of town before turning in a driveway and coming back again.

I went back through town and managed to approach the supermarket from the opposite direction. By the time I had parked, it was raining again. I went in, bought a few items - there was an excellent selection - and drove back to the motel.   Left: The rain arrived at the supermarket

I organised photos, listened to the rain falling outside and prepared for dinner. This proved perfectly adequate - I couldn't really complain about the chef - and retired to bed feeling full.