We left on the Magic Bus at 07:45 heading for Wanaka (argh...another early start). We stopped off at Lake Mathieson and did a circuit through the trees which should have taken 1hr 30 mins but we sped round in breakneck speed and did it in 1hr due to only having a 1 hour break before jumping back on the bus to Wanaka! We were so hot after the circuit of the lake that by the time we got back to the coach we hardy had any clothes on having peeled off layer after layer! During the walk we took some fantastic photos as this lake is known for it's mirror-like reflections of the mountains in the water.

Back on the bus again we stopped off for a few photo calls at Knight's Point (something to do with a dog but we switched off when the driver started talking about the story) , Thunder Creek and Haast River Falls (the latter being named after a Dutch guy; guess what, we didn't listen to the story about this either!!)

We finally arrived at the YHA in Wanaka town which overlooked the lake and mountains. Lake Wanaka is stunning with its crystal clear water and towering snow capped mountains. It is New Zealand's fourth largest lake.

Wanaka thrives during winter because of it's skiing and snowboarding. It's a small town but with plenty of activities. Orlando bloom apparently sky dived in Wanaka!

After checking in, we went for a 3O minute walk to Puzzling World which is a unique attraction with facinating holograms, mind-tricking sights and a maze. It is set amongst three hectares of lawns and gardens. It includes Illusion rooms with 3D holograms and the Hall of faces where 68 giant famous eyes follow you around the room! The tilted house which confuses your brain, and a great maze with it's confusing passages (1.5km in total).

The evening was spent with Mark drinking with Cicero and a couple of other blokes (from the UK and Ireland) for a few hours whilst Lisa felt tired so decided to chill out in the room. Cicero, being a light drinker, later told us that he woke the next morning with a massive hangover!!! Note for Cicero: don't go for "a couple of beers" with the British or Irish!!!!

Mark took the Jet boat ride on Lake Wanaka. This consists of flying down the Clutha River at 80kmph with the boat doing 360 degree spins. Great fun but a bit cold was his feedback.

At 4:30pm we ventured off to the quirky cinema to watch the Leonardo di Caprio film "Inception". The cinema features old lounge chairs, sofas and even a Morris Minor. Oh yes, we both just had to sit and watch the movie in the car!! It was really great fun and more comfortable than expected.

This evening we went for a few drinks in a sports bar followed by cooking the slowest pasta ever in our hostel, a whole 40 minutes! This was down to the stove not working efficiently.

We awoke the next morning and our idea of hiring bicycles was a washout due to the rain so we gave it a miss and thought this is something we can do another time. We had a trot round town and went back to the hostel. After using the wifi for a bit we boarded the coach which arrived on-time at 2:30pm. By early evening we would be in New Zealand's adrenalin capital, Queenstown.