Visiting New Zealand Pt 2:
After a full days travel, we’d made it to Wanaka, where I’d booked the most wonderful Airbnb. Barbara works with natural dye and linen and her studio was so beautifully styled and the perfect space for Molly and I. While we were about a 20minute walk outside of the main city centre it didn’t feel miles away and if you didn’t have a little person with you - this would have been the best location to come home to each night!
From the terrace there was a view of the lake and the mountains and it was just heaven. I’d spied some places on instagram for our trip and because I was turning 40 during our stay, I’d booked a new taco place called Paloma. The decor and staff were amazing, seriously 10/10 but the food was pretty bland and seeing as I lived in Mexico I’d have to give the place 2/10 for food but if you’re in Wanaka and want a good margarita, I’d definitely recommend it!
Our days in Wãnaka were spent heading out to breakfast - mainly to Scroggin. Which was just Devine. The thing we’ve noticed about New Zealand is the cost. I’m blown away that even with the exchange rate it’s so unaffordable - I’ve spent two years backpacking around New Zealand in my younger years and it was definitely a more affordable option. I cannot imagine backpacking around now on a budget. Average break for two people was $74. And one of those was a kiddo…..However, by far one of the best breakfasts we have had on our travels here! It sits just off the lake but has a great vibe close to a playground if you need a bribe tactic and has indoor and outdoor seating.
The weather while we were in Wãnaka wasn’t amazing, in fact during out time in New Zealand the weather hasn’t been great! So the search was on to find things we could do without getting soaking! There are a few great things to do with kids - one is Puzzle World. With a great indoor area and a maze outside. Luckily we caught the maze at the right time in-between showers and managed to spend a good hour and a half trying to escape! Inside is full of different illusions and also has puzzles at tables in the cafe so if it does rain, grab a coffee and let the kids roam. The next day we caught some sunshine and went to Wãnaka Lavender Farm - it was such a cute place to go, not ideal for kids because there aren’t really things to do apart from look at the lavender but it was so beautiful. I think it was $15 to get in and kids under 5 go free so perfect time before Mollys birthday.
I think in total we had 4 nights and 5 days in Wãnaka which was the perfect amount of time to really get to grips with the city. And although we didn’t do of the amazing nature trails (hello small child) on our journey we were just blown away with all the amazing scenery so it kind of didn’t matter. Two places we had food at was Wee Tart which was epic, and when they messed up our order they were sweet enough to give us some delicious cakes as a sorry. Highly recommend getting the Breaky Muffins - I could have eaten three! And the other was Big Fig/www.bigfig.co.nz. Oh golly gosh, Big Fig was epic. Beautiful food, great staff, right on the lake front. A bit like The Fumbally although not so big and more self serve style. Happily would have gone back and back and back. I don’t have any pictures of the food sadly - consumed too quickly!
