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Today we had a trip to Mordor. It involved going 42 km up a river off Lake Wanaka in a jet boat. We were lead by our very own Gandalf otherwise known as Brent, a moari but I'm sure had a bit of blarny irish in him given the tales he told.
As we sped up the river Gandalf pointed out various locations used in the filming of the lord of the rings and the hobbit. Even though we have seen two of the films we didn't recognise them! He impressed us with some wizzard fact such as Lake Wanaka has a larger surface area than Singapore and the bottom is below sea level.
As we sped up the river we saw our first glimps of Avelanche glacier high up in the mountains. The moari tribes used to send the young men up into the mountains to look for jade to make tools and ornaments. The women stayed behind to keep things in order!
The river was huge and had risen over night due to a rain storm. Gandalf told us of farmers from the 'old country' who came here to farm in this remote valley. He recounted how they had abandoned their farm after two family members were drowned in the unpredicatable river. Not really what you want to hear on a boat trip.
As we approached the Mt Aspiring national park the forests returned but this time beech forests. They are tall impressive trees and create a much less cluttered floor so it's easier to walk in the woods. Lots of moss and bogs though and sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.
Gandalf gave us large oversized raincoats to protect us from the spray from the boat and the rain showers. When we did get out for a short walk in the forest we resembled a small group of hobbits. Happily non of us were swept away by an ork looking for the ring and we hopped back into the jet boat to explore another tributary of the river.
Finally it was time to return to Wanaka. Gandalf made the occasional 360 degree turn in the boat alegedly to show us something interesting but we think he just enjoyed getting touristS wet. We teturned in time for a late lunch.
All in all Wanaka is a great base to do just about anything you want and is not as big and crouded as queenstown. We enjoyed our stay.
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