We kicked off the 2nd half of our stay in Wanaka with some incredible weather…while the kids found their new favorite spot down on the lake. Even Tara & I were brave enough to give the rope swing a try, but this time we’re smart enough NOT to post any of those potentially embarrassing pics/videos. 💡

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As it turns out Thanksgiving is not a recognized holiday here in New Zealand (who knew 🤷‍♂️), but that didn’t stop us! Nope…we kicked our celebration into gear by heading east to Dunedin and across the 45th parallel to meet up with Tara’s Auntie & Uncle from Las Vegas, who were out cruising the southern seas. We had a great visit, an amazing dinner, and felt so fortunate to have some extra family for the holidays while so far from home. 😊

Back in Wanaka we had knocked out so many incredible treks over the past few weeks that it was finally time to let someone else do all the work. So we headed up into the hills with Backcountry Saddles to go horseback riding with their beautiful Appaloosas. 🐴

Sweet jackets, right?

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Caden was paired with incredibly friendly Puggle, Keira was paired with Dawn who was the sweet mom of the group, and Tara was paired with Dawn’s daughter, Haloosa.

As for me, I was paired with this guy…cranky Jade. If you happen to be wondering why I’m so far off in the distance with good ol’ angry ears, it’s because that was about as close as Jade would tolerate the other horses getting to him. Watch out, he bites!

#loner

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We capped off our ride with an awesome lunch and tasty brews at the Cardrona Hotel. 🍻

With another beautiful day on the horizon, we decided to try our luck at kayaking on the massive Lake Wanaka. The crystal clear water was amazing…and even though it was hovering just below 50 degrees the kids still jumped in for a dip! 🥶

And then, the rain…

Over the last few days the water level in Lake Wanaka has increased by almost 6 feet, and as we’re updating this blog the downtown waterfront is preparing to be flooded.

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You can see in the pictures above just how far the water has risen under the tree that the kids were swinging on at the top of the post! On a positive note, it’s now much easier to get the kayaks into the water.

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So what do you do when life hands you a flood…obviously you head east into the hills and go wine tasting! 🍷

The Cromwell-Bannockburn Valley proved to be the perfect sunny getaway, complete with a small afternoon snack at the Mt. Difficulty winery.

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As Tara found her happy place and the kids found plenty of open spaces to roam, we couldn’t have been more content with our respite from the rain.

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…that and we also encountered the world’s greatest gift for our family of wackos, a human-size gerbil wheel!

We’ll see you in Milford Sound!