First Days in NZ and Challenge Wanaka

After a very (very, very, very) long but smooth trip, we landed in Queenstown, rented a car, and drove on the left side of the road through paradise to Wanaka to arrive at Eliot and Ethel's house. Wanaka (pronounced WAN-uh-kuh) is rather like New Zealanders: quite wonderful and filled with spectacular qualities but approachable and warm. Lake Wanaka is large, rather chilly (it's fed by glacier melt) and boasts at least one small island that I've seen so far which has its own lake on it. It's a small town that plays hosts to lots of tourists without feeling like it's lost its character. 

View of the lake from Eliot and Ethel's rented house

Our time here so far has been nothing short of idyllic. We've walked into town for a few meals and cooked a few here at the house as well. Breakfast this morning was pastries that are made by a guy named Matt and are available only once a week at a tiny local market. The weather is delightfully warm and clear and the scenery is spectacular. I've done lots of sitting around and reading, but I've loved the drives we've taken, too. I went for both a walk and a run on my own and felt I could have wandered happily all day, admiring the fields of sheep and thriving plants, flowers, and trees. We're at the height of summer here. Sitting around in the sun is a welcome change from winter in my native hemisphere, but one has to remember to slather on sunscreen before even a brief exposure; the hole in the ozone that I've always associated only with Australia affects New Zealand, too.

One of our first stops was to see the house that Eliot and Ethel are building. It's up in the hills and has a splendid view of the valley below, which is cut through by the bluest river I have ever seen. During the drive there, I sat in the back seat with their American friend Nate who, as luck would have it, is a florist and was able to identify lots of the trees and plants we passed. (Eliot and Ethel, the friendliest and kindest of people, have amassed a huge group of friends who come to visit them in droves, even all the way down here, and they practically run a hostel out of their house.) We also drove by a paddock of deer. As an invasive species with no real predators, the deer were a real problem until some clever Kiwi decided that farming them and selling their meat was easier than trying to eradicate them. Sure enough, while we've seen plenty of wild rabbits around, we haven't seen any wild deer, and normal supermarkets have venison for sale at the meat counter. Put together, New Zealand's two islands are about the size of California, but there are only 4 million people here and 3 million of those live on the north island. (We are on the south.) So there are plenty of wide open spaces.

Ed spent yesterday getting registered and set up for Challenge Wanaka, which is a half-Ironman-distance race that is not run by the Ironman company. The differences were clear before we even arrived; while Ironman has a reputation for being strict and rather overly proud of themselves, Challenge races are friendlier and more laid back. When he tried to register late, Ed was told that it was no problem and that he could just pay them when he got here. Such a thing would be unheard of for Ironman. While in Ironman races an athlete can be disqualified for so much as receiving a tip from a coach or spectator along the course, here family members and friends often join their athletes in the finish chute and cross the line together.

The start of the swim. The men, in yellow caps, have just taken off and the women, in pink caps, are swimming out to line up for their own deep water start. 

The day before the race was HOT and we were a little worried that race day would be pretty miserable. The course is very tough, thanks to roads that are in bad shape (making the bike difficult) and lots of climbing on both the bike and run sections. But today, though sunny, had just enough wispy clouds and breeze to keep things comfortable and Ed had a great time. He finished well despite dropping his bike chain and cramping during the swim and the run portions.

Coming out of the water, heading for transition to hop onto his bike

The finish "chute," which forced the poor runners to make three 90-degree turns!

One of Ed's fellow racers was Scott Molina, an American who lives here in Christchurch. He has won the Ironman championships and is considered one of the best triathletes to have ever competed. He's a little long in the tooth these days, but it was fun to meet him a few nights before the race and cheer for him on the course. The overall winner was a local athlete with a reputation for being blazing fast, and his coach took third place. Each athlete on the podium was given a bottle of champagne, which they promptly shook, sprayed at each other, then toasted with. 

Champs with bubbly

Tomorrow Ed will likely lie around a lot and I plan to go for a run and maybe do a bit more walking by the lake. Monday, we'll drive back to Queenstown to hop a plan for the hour-long flight to Christchurch. It will be interesting to spend time in a larger (albeit not large) city in New Zealand, which as far as we are concerned is composed entirely of sheep pastures and pretty mountain ranges. I'm thrilled that we have more than a week left in this magical country!