Wanaka is a sporty sort of place, full of ads for helicopter rides, jet boats etc. This was our ‘free’ day which meant that Herbie came up with lists of energetic things we could do without him.

This morning I went on a ‘cruise’ – actually a half hour speedboat ride across a ‘rather lumpy’ lake – to a protected island with no predators to see the very rare buff weka. Wekas are flightless birds and there are several varieties. This one only survived because there were some on an island off the coast. I think I may have mentioned them before – they nick shiny stuff from campsites etc.

There are also some rare wetas on this island. These – not the same thing – are large cricket like things that filled the place of rats and mice in the pre- mammal New Zealand. The giant one can fill the palm of your hand. Peter Jackson’s special effects workshop is named after them. The creepy bit is that they can be frozen for up to a year and revived by thawing. There was also a NZ gecko which climbs trees instead of sticking to walls like the ordinary one.

This is the manuka plant of honey fame….

This is the view from the island. There is a lake at the top of it which I have not photographed on my phone. A lake on an island in a lake to be totally correct.

And this is the boat on the way back with one of the staff looking damp and enigmatic. As the thing was bouncing around at the time, I’m amazed I’ve got anywhere near the right view. On the left, over his shoulder, you can see the mountains that played the MistyMountains in both LotR and The Hobbit. Just FYI.

This afternoon I have been for lunch and done laundry. You don’t want to know about that!