Day 157- We needed a picnic for the day so we got up extra early to get it ready before the bus left, we boiled up some eggs and made some tuna pasta. We ate our breakfast and were packed up and on the bus first. The weather wasn't looking too good but we headed on to Lake Matheson. The walk to the lake wasn't long, only 20mins or so and it was beautiful. The reflections of the forest behind were picture perfect. We all walked back and jumped on to the bus. We were driving for quite a while when the heavens opened, it was raining so heavy. We stopped for lunch at our picnic stop but it was raining so much we all just ate on the bus, bit of a shame. After about 45mins we were back on the road, we missed out a few places we would have usually stopped as it wasn't worth it with the rain and fog. Driving over the Haast Pass and through the Mount Aspiring national park was so beautiful but it was spoilt by the weather but what could we do. We eventually pulled up at Thunder Creek falls and the driver kicked us off the bus in true kiwi style and told us to follow a short walk and see the waterfalls. There was people complaining about the rain but me and Lloyd powered on, the walk was through the rainforest anyway so we were covered by the canopy. Once at the waterfall we could see why he had made do the walk. It was it its full glory in the rain, it was so tall and worth seeing. Back on the road we just headed straight on to Wanaka, as we got closer the sky turned to blue and the sun was out, not a cloud in the sky. We had decided not to stay in the same hostel as the rest of the bus usually because they use the hostel chain 'Base' and like we said we don't like staying in these big chain's, mainly because they sap money from the community plus they are usually staffed by young British and German people purely there for there own pleasure and not to do a good job. We had found a lovely little hostel on the same road owned and ran by a family from Essex who had moved to Wanaka 7 years prior. The hostel was great with a beautiful garden. We checked in, dropped our bags and headed back to the Stray bus - as it was still early in the afternoon, the driver had offered to take us on a walk he knew about just outside of Wanaka. Just about everyone came which was good. We drove about 10mins before hitting the base. Quite a few people decided to run (not sure why) but me and Lloyd enjoyed the walk up the hill. Some of the walk was through forest and you had to climb a bit which was fun. After about 40mins we were at the top and could see why the driver had brought us here, the hill produced the most beautiful view of Lake Wanaka and the little town just next to it. We sat at the top of the hill over looking Wanaka - so beautiful. We walked back down and back to our hostel and spent the rest of the evening making tea and chilling out.

Day 158 - As we had been travelling for a while we decided to stay in Wanaka for a few days and chill out. We had a lie-in and a late breakfast. There was a little monument at the top of a small hill behind our hostel so we had a walk up there. We walked in to the centre and had a walk around. We walked every single street and had a look in most of the shops, once we where satisfied we had seen Wanaka we headed back to the hostel. We had a lovely salad for lunch with our Venison and garlic salami then we found some sun loungers in the garden and relaxed. We had some catching up to do with the diary and our research so cracked on with that during the afternoon. We had a real relaxing day and finished it off by watching Peter Kay with a cup of hot chocolate before bed.

Day 159 - We wanted to do one of the big walks around the area so asked the hostel owner for some good advice. He explained there was no public buses and the only way to get to any walk was to hitch-hike (typical of New Zealand - so tourist unfriendly or friendly depending on how you look at it) We debated hitch-hiking but came to the conclusion that we could possibly get a lift there from the town but getting back wouldn't be so easy as all of the walks were in the middle on nowhere. The owner suggested a big walk right along the side of the lake. It would take all day and was meant to be beautiful so we decided to do that one. We packed up and picnic and started on our walk. It wasn't long before we were well on our way and following the lake. We passed the most beautiful houses we have ever seen. If we won the lottery we wouldn't hesitate The houses were all different and had heaps of land and all over looked the lake with the most spectacular views of the mountains So Jealous We came across a tree swing which we couldn't resist having a go on then found a nice spot for lunch. The lake was so peaceful and quiet and beautiful to say the least. We turned off from the lake in to the town of Arrowhead, a tiny town which seemed to be developing fast as this also had some outstanding houses. We walked along passed mount Iron but decided not to climb it as we had been walking about 6 hours and we wanted to get back early. We walked back to Wanaka and had some tea. As it was valentines day we got all dressed up and headed down to the boutique cinema - Paradiso. This was no ordinary cinema but a retro- art house type place. It was decked out with sofas, aeroplane seats and even retro cars you could sit in. We were there nice and early for Django Unchained so when the doors opened I spotted the seat we wanted and legged up to get it. I managed to bag the middle sofa - perfect. We settled down and the movie began. Just like the olden days there was an interval in the middle and everyone scrambled out to the foyer. On sale were hot freshly baked cookies and home-made ice-cream. We settled for cookie-dough ice-cream and A giant choc-chip cookie and they were outstanding. The second half came on and we settled down to watch the end. The film was great, we really enjoyed it and the night was perfect. Lovely valentines day treat.