Wanaka and Roy's Glacier Walk

Bob and I started the day on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, with a 4.5 km hike on Mt. Iron; a small mountain rising near the middle of Wanaka.  Fall was arriving in New Zealand as was evidenced on our hike.  Great views of the surrounding area could be seen from the peak.

 

It was time for a little shopping in town and, of course, another stop at a pie shop.  If I can ever learn to master the art of making these flaky savory meat, egg and vegetable pies, I might just have to open a shop someday!  The sweet treats I can handle with the help of my sister-in-laws.

That afternoon, we drove about an hour out of town to hike Roy's Glacier Walk.  The landscape changed significantly as we drove out of Wanaka.  

We enjoyed seeing all the animals and birds along the way.  In fact, I believe this was the first time I had seen live black swans.  Many of the sheep had been newly shorn.  I felt a tinge of guilt as we drove past thousands of deer farms!

I loved arriving at a car park anywhere in New Zealand.  These photos represent well the majority of vans we saw touring around the country.  Gotta love that kiwi style!  We knew we would be in good company on this trek!

Roy's Glacier "Walk" ended up being quite a challenging hike, but the reward was phenomenal.  It occurred to me that in life, much like this hike, it is a good thing we don't always know what is ahead of us or we just might give up way too soon.  For me, it was the anticipation of the unknown that kept me motivated to keep going, even though the steps ahead looked hard.  However, we saw other hikers turn back just 30 minutes away from seeing the glorious vista at the end of the trail because they couldn't imagine pursuing a goal that warranted the challenges they saw ahead.  Our hearts were sad for them.  We have to trust that there is a worthwhile reward at the end of the climb.

At the end of our hike, we found ourselves in a clearing that surrounded us with sheer cliffs of trickling water falling from glacier topped peaks amid lush greenery.  It was heavenly!

I would have liked to linger longer on that mountainside, but knew the long descent that was required before nightfall. It was upon nearing the end of our hike that I realized the greatness of the task we had undertaken.  It was a wonderful feeling - kind of like what the cow at the end of the trail surely felt as he towered above us on a nearby hill!

  Goodnight Wanaka ... love you!