crazyscot

Makarora-Wanaka-Queenstown

A nice short driving day today for a change - only about 2.5 hours - with a stop en route at Puzzling World in Wanaka.

Makarora Homestead last night was a breath of fresh air (quite literally). The accommodation is basic and compact but very well done, breakfast supplies provided and the township's cafe/store just 500m away. While we were eating the occasional light aircraft took off from the airstrip (adjacent to the road) - they operate mountain and glacier sightseeing flights from there. It may be a one horse township, but it's very much alive and kicking.

Puzzling World is a tourist attraction just outside of Wanaka, originally opened in the 70s as just a maze, with some expansion and refinement since. It starts on the outside as you pass the Leaning Tower of Wanaka which is a neat piece of artwork, over 45 degrees from vertical, with a wrong-way clock. They have an interactive Ames room (perspective illusion, as used in the LotR films); galleries of holograms and of faces that appear to watch you wherever you go; and a mind-bending perceptual illusion room with a sloped floor that miscalibrates your brain so that water appears to flow uphill. (I found the latter room very uncomfortable, but in a fun way.)

And then on to the grand maze itself. The object is to reach all four corners (or for the hard challenge, in a given order) and return to the start. It's three-dimensional with bridges. Quite infuriating but in a good way.

As for the drive, amidst more turquoise waterways, breathtaking gorges and cascading rapids we drove past (another) LotR film scene, and I could imagine being there amidst the events of the books.