Wanaka was the last stop before the South Island highlight of Queenstown, and I mostly just expected it to be Queenstown-lite: quieter, pretty, but nothing too exciting. It actually turned out to be an unexpectedly cool little spot!
First of all, we passed some gorgeous nature on the way there. Lake Matheson was a black lake that reflected the trees and mountains like a perfect mirror.
Thunder Creek Falls was a waterfall on a mountainside.
And finally, Lake Hawea was a huge blue lake surrounded by mountains. We just stopped off right on the road to jump out and see it.
We stayed at the Wanaka Base which was basic and boring as most Bases with the added negative of a confusing hall structure. The location was great, however, being just a block from the lake. To be fair, I think all the hostels are about a block from the lake. Wanaka is fairly small.
I took a walk to the lake at sundown which was very pretty. The beach was totally empty with a few trees around and mountains in the backdrop.
That evening, I went with a few people to see The Grand Budapest Hotel at this awesome theater right across the street from the hostel called Paradiso. Tickets were only $14.50 (compared to normal theater prices in NZ, this is cheap), and it was a novelty cinema.
Instead of regular seats, the theater is full of comfy, mismatched couches and armchairs, and there are also two old school cars (one in front of the screen, one at the back of the theater) you can sit in. There’s an intermission in the middle of the screening so you can take a break and buy coffee that comes in real mugs or baked goods. They do their own homemade ice cream, and I tried the Baileys and white chocolate which was pretty great. It was a super chill and enjoyable evening activity.
The standout activity in Wanaka though actually came the following morning when we stopped at an optical illusion museum called Puzzling World on the way out of town. It was only about $14 in (usually $20, think we had a discount price) and was a couple hours of fun. Even the outside has the big Leaning Tower of Wanaka that looks like it’s about to fall on top of you.
We started outside in the Great Maze. It was a labyrinth with four towers, one in each corner. You’re meant to reach each one before finding your way out. I have very poor directional sense, so I found it highly confusing and just followed Chris the whole way through.
After finishing the maze, we went into the building which was just packed full of awesomeness. We started by walking through a hall of holograms before entering a tilted house. The whole room was on a 15 degree slope and was super disorienting. You had to walk uphill to get to the opposite end, and there was furniture that was either also tilted or was actually set up straight on no slope which confusingly made it LOOK tilted. A swing was hanging away from the wall, there was water that appeared to be flowing uphill over tiers, and there was a chair ride that looked like you were sliding uphill even though it was the opposite. It was all dizzying and it was hard to stand straight. Trippy.
Next up was a room of hollowed out faces that appeared to be watching you no matter which way you moved.
Then was the cool illusion room where you and a friend could enter at opposite ends but one of you would look gigantic while the other was tiny.
The last room had a sink fountain, a telephone booth with an infinity floor, a creepily lifelike old silcon man sitting in the corner, and a few other illusions.
On the way out, we made a point to find the bathrooms since we were told they shouldn’t be missed. I almost walked right past them since the door just looked the entrance to a mystery world.
The bathrooms were so worth visiting! There were two, each with their own 3D painted floor. One side looked like puzzle pieces falling away down a hole while the other had a Rubik’s cube dropping down into an abyss.
It was funny coming back out into the lobby and seeing all the 20-something backpackers from the kiwi bus sitting around at tables playing puzzles like kids while waiting. It looked like recess in primary school.
So it was a short little trip to Wanaka, but an enjoyable one! It was nice to have a relaxed final stop before the full-on week in Queenstown that was coming up next. Read my next blog to hear about my favorite spot in the South Island and possibly all of New Zealand.
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