Lake Wanaka NZ

The backpacker is full of the extremely scruffy, extremely young and extremely thin, there must be climbing!!! A visit to the local info centre and we have a guide "pamphlett" . A rope and gear are hired at $21 per day, thats 6 pounds in real money, and we are on the imaginatively named "Roadside crag". It is at least 20 feet from the unsealed track they call a road.

A mix of bolted and natural pro routes. It is Sunday (the weekend) and we climb for a couple of hours in magnificent scenery without seeing another soul.

This looks easy, what is grade 18? Er perhaps we should move along and try another!!! Is this "Strawberry" or " Elvis crashes the car"?. Whatever, the rock has good friction, the sun shines and Lynne leads us to the top. This is a good place to be.

We move to the next crag, the Alcove. Very committing and nearly verticle we take turns to crack the route.Finally, exhausted we manage an honourable retreat with all our gear intact. Still nobody around we walk around Lake Diamond with stunning views over the lake to the distant mountains and finally home to Boysenberry pie.

Tommorrow fishing.

Lynne and Harv