Well, nothing says getting back on the horse than renting bikes right after Ted’s little hiccup in Te Anau. Still bearing the scares from his wee accident with a tree on the Lake to Lake cycle a week ago we decided to do an easy cycle around Lake Wanaka. The problem was - it was far from simple.
When we asked the young chap to recommend a hike he suggested the Lake Wanaka hike and said it was not too hilly and an easy ride around the lake. It would take about 90 minutes to get to the bridge and we could decide to go further or turnaround. I know Ted was already thinking - oh, we will go further.
The ride started our in downtown Wanaka, so flat, easy, on pavement. That lasted about 5km and it moved to a trail of rocks and sand, which was okay, but not what I was expecting. That continued, on a flat surface for about another 5km and THEN the real trail kicked in - once we found it (that’s another long story and that poor could from Cardiff, Wales).
The dirt/rock path starts to narrow and you pass through a gate onto a VERY narrow trail that then is running along the lake. Water on one side and side of hill on the other and the trail is NOT wide enough for a bike and a person or certainly two bikes - even though it is a ‘share the trail’ type of trail. The terrain is now rockier, hillier, and has lots of exposed branches. Oh, this is NOT going down well with Ted, nor more to be honest. We are cycling along and I am assuming this will be short, but not it is not. We start to pass people - some who clearly do not want to move or stand still while I hurtle by - with the lake to my left and mere inches from crashing into it.
There was even a really nasty woman walking her dog who told me to ‘hurry up’ going down a steep embankment as I was interrupting her walk. Well, maybe if she’d move the F out of my way, call her dog who was running back and forth in front of me, or just be friendly, I might have been better equipped as manoeuvring the embankment. Nope, the dog ran right in front of me and I quickly jammed both breaks and almost went ass over tea kettle on the bike - the dog kept running around and rude Kiwi women snorted. Well, I can tell you I wanted to say a few things, but got back on my bike and peddled off, as I knew Ted was racing up behind me.
We finally made it to the bridge and Ted said ‘I want to go back, that was intense and I think I have PTSD from the bike ride last week’. We stopped for a bar and water and turned around. Fortunately, there were fewer people on the way back that we have to manorever around. We made it back to Wanaka in 3 1/2 hours, exhausted, sweaty, and a wee bit frustrated that the bike ride was not as fun as we thought it would be. I would say it was a very difficult course/route and we should have been told that and may have chose a different one - lesson learned. We still go out on a lovely day, got exercise, and ended the day at Cork Wine Bar - that was my reward …
Another day another adventure and that is why we are here,
Cheers,
Robert and Ted
You are funny Robert, and Bob and I both laughed at your description of your hike. Thank goodness for wine bars at the end!