Thur 28 Jan - The Rob Roy Glacier

Today was the day for some strenuous exercise we decided, so after moving our belongings to a cabin at a different motor camp, we headed up the dirt track road to Mount Aspiring. Again it was a gorgeous day, sunny and hot with temps in the mid 20s. The views on the way were inspiring (quite appropriate, really) and as we parked at the start of the scenic footpaths we felt very positive about the walk ahead. Initially we had a gentle walk by the side of a river before crossing a ‘swing bridge’ as the Kiwis call them. Actually it was one of those narrow cable bridges suspended from either end and the word ‘swing’ describes the motion of the bridge as you walk across. Needless to say Christine was not a happy bunny! However this was only the start, the hike (or tramp as they call in these here parts) which was rated as easy/moderate in the guide books turned out to be strenuous/diabolical in the Carr grading system so we didn’t actually make it to the top but took some great pictures of the glacier on the way up nonetheless. We were put off making the final push when we came across a sign saying it was only another 30 mins and we had by then been climbing for nearly two hours. Once we got back to Wanaka it was a quick cooling dip in the lake for Mike whilst Christine bought supplies for a barbecue. Whilst cooking and eating the meal at the site we met up with two sets of people from the USA and one from France – such is the mix of visitors to NZ!