NZ Day 9 - Pastries and Packing

Saturday, 15 April 2017

Jon and I got up early to go for one last run before hanging  up our our running shoes for a good 5 days while we do the Milford Track.

When we got back we packed up the van for the last time and drove back into Wanaka, where we promptly invested the $24 we saved by Freedom Camping in the local bakery.

Today we let the kids ride in the camper van in what we’ve called ‘bed-mode’ - I’m glad we hadn’t realised we could do this until the last day as it would have been next to impossible to lever the kids from the van (and their bed) to do any hikes or activities..

 

A few bites of our bakery treats gave us the energy boost we needed to climb up Mt Iron - a 4.5k steep hike that delivered lovely vistas over Wanaka. 

Then our only remaining driving mission was to get into Queenstown by 1ish to start a lot of not-so-fun organisational things, including dumping the camper van waste water, refilling with gas & diesel, picking up Clare from the airport (actually that bit was fun - it’s nice to see Clare again), then doing the shopping for our hike, unpacking then re-packing our hiking backpacks, doing the washing of clothes and our very grubby selves. We had the luxury of a not very luxurious overpriced cabin in central Queenstown but we really didn’t have time to look around  - we were busy from 1pm to 10pm on our chores. We’ll get to have a day to explore and do some fun Queenstown activities after we’ve done our hike.

Right now - after an almost sleepless night for me due to nervous anticipation and the loud group of teenagers rolling in from town at 2am - we’re heading towards the start point at Te Anau Downs. Luckily Jon is doing the driving!  We have 4 days of rain forecast but luckily we’re tough tasmanians, so we’ll be fine.
2017List
Cool things Wednesday, 3 May 2017
NZ Day 30 - Long Distance Final Sunday, 30 April 2017
NZ Day 28 - Rest Day 3 (HA!) Friday, 28 April 2017
NZ Day 27 - Long Qualifying 2 Friday, 28 April 2017
NZ Day 26 - Long Qualifying 1 Wednesday, 26 April 2017
NZ Day 25 - Rangitoto Island Tuesday, 25 April 2017
NZ Day 24 - Unexpected Outcomes Tuesday, 25 April 2017
NZ Day 23 - Sprint Qualifying Sunday, 23 April 2017
NZ Day 22 - Goodbye Rotorua, Hello Auckland Sunday, 23 April 2017
NZ Day 21 - Rest Day 2 (HA!) Saturday, 22 April 2017
NZ Day 20 - Rotorua Orienteering & Adrenaline Forest Thursday, 20 April 2017
NZ Day 19 - Rotorua Orienteering Thursday, 20 April 2017
NZ Day 18 - Rest Day (HA!) Tuesday, 18 April 2017
NZ Day 17 - Oceania Middle & Rotorua Tuesday, 18 April 2017
NZ Day 16 - Goodbye South Island Tuesday, 18 April 2017
NZ Day 15 - Milford Sound Saturday, 15 April 2017
Milford Track - Day 4 Saturday, 15 April 2017
Milford Track - Day 3 Saturday, 15 April 2017
Milford Track - Day 2 Saturday, 15 April 2017
Milford Track - Day 1 Saturday, 15 April 2017
NZ Day 9 - Pastries and Packing Saturday, 15 April 2017
NZ Day 8 - Pools and Puzzles Sunday, 9 April 2017
NZ Day 7 - More Glaciers & Amazing Views Sunday, 9 April 2017
NZ Day 6 - Gorges and Glaciers Friday, 7 April 2017
NZ Day 5 - Seals & Rocks Friday, 7 April 2017
NZ Day 4 - Old Ghost Road Wednesday, 5 April 2017
NZ Day 3 - Abel Tasman National Park Tuesday, 4 April 2017
NZ Day 2 - Hot Springs and Long Drives Monday, 3 April 2017
NZ Day 0 & NZ Day 1 Sunday, 2 April 2017
NZ (Planned) Wednesday, 29 March 2017