Wanaka Town & Wildfire

We recharged in Wanaka, a cute town nestled in the mountains. It was busy, but somehow it still felt relaxed. Maybe it was because it wasn't dominated by tourist shops trying to sell you stuff. We got some groceries, and connected back with the world at the library. We sat in the park to enjoy a simple lunch.

That's when we noticed smoke. A wildfire had started in the hills above the town! It's as if wildfires have followed us around the world. First the grassfires in Portugal and Spain, then the forest fires in the Rockies and California. Later it stumped our plans to visit Fraser Island in Australia and now in New Zealand. Crazy! Helicopters started dumping water from Lake Wanaka on the flames. When we returned the following day, everything was under control again.

We decided to head into the mountains towards Rob Roy. It was a 30km drive over pretty rough gravel road (washboard). We're surprised we didn't rattle off any van parts. The van did squeal a bit because of all the dust. But luckily it wasn't permanent. We parked along the glacial river that came from the Rob Roy glacier and camped there that night.Read more