Day three of my Central Otago road trip did not start well. Raining. Not exactly ideal for the first planned activity of the day, tandem paragliding.

Although the sun broke through, the winds on nearby Coronet Peak were too strong. Another day perhaps.

Instead it was off to Wanaka, a summer and winter resort town that gazes out north over the eponymous lake to a range of mountains in every shade of blue.

Compared to the Wakatipu region further south, centred on  Queenstown, this region has softer, more rounded landforms.  Here the ancient glaciers have done their work well, yielding a smoother, gentler landscape, contorted only occasionally where harder rocks have held out against the massive grinding forces of the ice. Iconic Mt Aspiring is a good example or this hard rock resistance.

As elsewhere in Central Otago, the poplars and willows that line the lake’s edge render autumn a … Read more

The post Wonderful Wanaka On A Central Otago Road Trip appeared first on Road Trip Dreamer.