Rob Roy Glacier

I woke up this morning at sunrise after a long and restful sleep. I plodded out into the main sitting area in my socks to eat some breakfast, and was instantly rewarded with the view of the mountains across the lake that fit perfectly into the picture window of the hostel. The clouds were low on the mountains, and the sun was just starting to bring colour into the rock. I wanted to take a picture, but having the 2 blocks of trees in between me and the lakefront wasn't going to cut it. As I hadn't bothered to put on shoes, I contemplated going back to my room, but people were sleeping, and I was worried that the light from the sunrise might be moving fast. I first stepped out onto the deck to take the picture, but realized that wasn't going to be good enough either and ended up running down the 2 blocks to the lakefront. When I got back I checked the weather, and it was -1 outside.  No regrets.

I moved slow during the morning, enjoying breakfast while staring out the window and organizing some of my pictures. I wanted to do the Rob Roy Glacier Hike, which was recommended to me by Rachel, but I didn't want to take the 100km round trip car ride by myself. I managed to meet up with Julian and Kristi from Germany at the visitors centre who were willing to pitch in some gas money for a ride out. They were quiet, but friendly. Not the type of travellers you add on Facebook later, but the kind who seek a mutual goal through shared means. And that's alright with me.

The road goes 20km down a paved track winding around Lake Wanaka, and then continues on for 30km on a gravel road through farmers fields surrounded by mountains. Even without the trailhead at the end, this road was worth the drive, and was complimented by the autumn colours in the trees. The track itself starts out on pasture land, and then crosses over a river on a swing bridge into the forest.  It passes along creeks that have the blue tinge created from glacial sources. At the end, there is a waterfall that must be close to 500m tall shooting out over a sheer, vertical cliff face, and just to the right is the Rob Roy galcier.  Quite a spectacular sight.

On the drive back, we were stopped halfway through by a herd of sheep who were being shepherded onto another field. At first we crawled behind the farmer in his truck, but after a few minutes he waved his arm and told us to go right on through. The sheep were covering the entire width of the road, and they went on for another 500 metres. There must have been 2000 of them. But as you slowly accelerate your way through, they notice the big moving metal contraption and literally jump out of the way. We couldn't stop giggling.  Great way to end the hike.