After our spell in the mountain wilderness of Knob´s Flat, we headed back inland towards Wanaka for a couple of days, as we felt that we really should do a hike in the area. We checked into XBase, a modern backpackers accommodation in the centre of the town, clean and modern, just what we needed for this short stay. That evening, after a recommendation from a fellow passenger on our Doubtful Sound cruise, we headed to Wanaka´s Paradiso cinema, a small retro movie house on the outskirts of the town. The Paradiso offers you an experience on the quirky side, where you can sit in the small cinema in old lounge chairs, sofas, airline seats and even an old Morris Minor. This classic little cinema also has rave reviews for its menu. Serving Mexican dishes, pizzas, salads and sandwiches food can be ordered before, during and after the shows, so you can sit and munch your pizza and drink you wine (the cinema is fully licensed also) whilst watching your film We watched the New Zealand movie ´Boy´which has won rave reviews both here and in film festivals worldwide. Funny and touching, it is a really great film with a Kiwi sense of humor.

Today, with the clouds clearing revealing the peaks of Mount Aspiring National Park over Lake Wanaka, we headed in that direction to complete the Rob Roy Glacier Track, a trail that has been rates as a ´must do´if you are in the area. About an hours drive north of Wanaka we had to drive across bumpy gravel track, stopping on occasion to cross over babbling fords and streams flowing down from the mountains whilst keeping an eye on the roaming sheep and cows grazing in on the valley floor and grass covered slopes around us. The trail starts in the Raspberry Creek car park in the West Matukituki Valley where we followed the river upstream before crossing over a swing bridge spanning the gushing river flowing over a rocky bed below us. We ambled up through the rainforest covered lower slopes of the surrounding mountains, squidging through sticky mud at times still able to hear the crashing waters of the river running through the valley below us. The glacier itself can be glimpsed through the forest canopy at times as you climb. At certain points, there are breaks in the forest giving you views across to the mountain sides opposite, where waterfalls cascade down sheer rock crashing down towards the river. It takes about two hours to reach the summit, where reach the tree line and emerge into a superb hidden valley rimmed with solid rock walls and more waterfalls along with a view of the deep, brilliant white glacier ahead of you shimmering a blue colour in places. The snow line carries across onto the neighboring peaks where in places it is slowly melting, adding to the water falling around us.

After stopping here for our picnic, and keeping an eye on the native Kea´s always keen for a quick snack, we headed back down the trail. As we studied the river on our way back, we again could see the amazing clearness of the water, almost looking as though it was tinged with a blue colour, I guess it could be because, as Dani said, this water had only just recently melted from the glacier above and this was its first journey downhill in hundreds of years. Another pretty place to hike, with  wonderful sights and sounds around us and again, another one of NZ´s hidden gems with the glacier forming the jewel within the park.