January 2nd, 2006 - Wanaka Rodeo

We woke early from the sun rise, after a restless sleep in the car. I couldn't help but dream that the car was being swept away down a hill because of the rain, but otherwise, we both managed a fair bit of sleep. We rolled into the small country town of Wanaka for breakfast. Built on a lake in the mountains, its a quaint little town with alot of character. We happened to roll into town on the day of their annual rodeo and decided to stick around long enough to get a taste of some of the local farming culture. We watched the Steer riding, barrel turning and bronc riding both with and without a saddle. Now I've never had the fortune of going horseback riding, but these guys did not look like it was very comfortable, and they all walked away with a bit of a swagger. On our way out of town we discovered a berry farm where we picked our own rasberries and nibbled all the way into Queenstown.