New Zealand - Nov 24 & 25

Wanaka 

We stayed in Wanaka for two days and rode out of the town for day rides.  Wanaka is a quaint little resort town on the tail end of Lake Wanaka.  It is a ski resort in the winter and a boating, hiking and mountain biking destination in the summer...

This is where we are, Wanaka...

We rode the Glendhu Bay trail the first day.  It was listed as "easy".  It was just that at the start, easy.  Then it turned more "technical" as we went along.  You can see in the picture above the trail winding its way up and through the hills and along the lake.  You lose perspective though and can't see the steep grades, gravely conditions.  Later we learned it was rated as "intermediate" for the later parts of it.  That made more sense as I was wishing for front suspension and disc brakes... 😳

The ride took us through the grandeur of Lake Wanaka and its nature preserve.

Beautiful vistas and curvy rocky trail.

We came around a corner and saw a hole in the clouds that revealed huge snow capped mountain peaks that had been obscured from view by the layer of clouds.

Then there was the second day's ride out on Dean's Bench.  It was listed as an intermediary mountain bike trail with the emphasis on the mountain bike part of the description... 😊

First, had to climb up from the river level to the top of the bluff on an intricate switchback trail.  That alone should have told me to turn around.  But Nooooo, I kept going.  

The view from the top of the bluff was stunning.  The sunlight played tricks on the river below.  It seemed to paint a rainbow in the water along the bank.

The vast open River valley could be seen for miles from the bluff.

Once I hit the end of the bluff and the beginning of the woods, all focus was needed to navigate the trail.  It was an exhilarating and a bit scary ride.  The trail weaved and banked through the woods. At times the drop off at the trails edge was dramatic.  One little miscalculation of the trail and you would go careening over and drop to the river below.  One such little mistake I made was repealed by a tree.  I corrected a sliding back wheel on gravel and ended up heading right towards the edge.  But I ran the front wheel into a tree and the forward motion over the edge was stopped... Whew, disaster averted.  

Pictures were not possible until the end of the ride.

Ahhhh, back down to river level after the safe completion of the mountain bike trail on a non mountain bike!  😅