My New Zealand Jobs

Wanaka

The road to Wanaka is laced with snow-capped peaks and beautiful lakes. Our bus driver was kind enough to stop a few times for photo opportunities. Upon arriving in town, I checked into The Purple Cow Backpackers, which has it’s flaws, but has a nice alpine feel. After getting sorted, I walked out the front door, and lost my breath. It’s just unbelievable to see a clear blue lake a few hundred feet away surrounded by the Southern Alps. The view is stunning. So, after catching my breath, I walked 2k to Stuart’s Puzzling Word Maze, which is a life-size maze along with an illusion gallery. Both were pretty cool. Illusions included rooms with forced perspective, tilted rooms, and one where the faces watch you! Later that night, I went to Cinema Paradiso to watch NZ film Perfect Strangers. I spent a few hours in the cafe portion drinking a Flat White and writing in my journal. The place has atmosphere, with movie posters everywhere. When the movie was about to start, we went in and sat down in their makeshift theatre. The seating included various types of couches and chairs, and even a car! The screen was about 20’ feet wide or so, and the sound was pretty good. Though the movie was strange, it was a great film experience.
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\r\nThe next day I ran some errands, then hiked up Mt. Iron with this Irish girl I met at the cinema. We got views of both lakes, and a good panaramic view of the region. It’s only about 1.5k too, so not a hard walk. The rest of the day was fairly quiet, but good.