Wanaka

Located in the heart of New Zealand's South Island, Wanaka is a quaint resort town with an array of both summer and winter outdoor recreational activities available. Residing in the state of Otago, and 75 miles from Queenstown (one of the only bigger towns or cities in the greater area), Wanaka has a tremendous outdoorsy feel and a calming isolation from the hustle and bustle of everyday New Zealand life. I have a good friend from high school who attends college at the University of Otago in Dunedin which is over 100 miles away, but her family has a house in Wanaka and she spends a lot of her summer (and New Zealand's winter) skiing. There are four ski areas in the Wanaka region that are easily accessible including Treble Cone, Cardrona Alpine Resort, Snow Park and Snow Farm.

(Hiking to the summit of Treble Cone. Great looking snow shot. Imagine slaloming down that powder!)

Now I realize the last few posts have been solely about skiing but that is not completely what I am about. There is a ton of hiking, mountain biking and bungee jumping to be done in New Zealand and the South Island is where there is the heaviest concentration of outdoors. There is also a lot of geological attractions in New Zealand because of neighboring active volcanoes.

(A quaint cafe in Wanaka. Check out those sublime mountains dominating the background.)

The town of Wanaka is located at the south end of Lake Wanaka, New Zealand's fourth largest lake, and is completely surrounded by mountains. There is a lot of swimming, fishing and water sports available on the lake and through the various resorts located around the lake and in the town of Wanaka.

(Yup. That's about right. Epic.)