Happy day, the weather was cloudy but not rainy as per the forecasts, so we have been able to do the Rob Roy valley walk. It took us 1h15 from Wanaka to drive the 54 km to the car park at the start of the track. It is important to highlight that 30km are unsealed and during the last 10km you have to cross 8 fords. For those like us who never heard the word "ford" before, here is a definition "a shallow place in a river or stream where it can be crossed" (see picture). If it is raining the level of the river rises quickly and you cannot drive through the fords with a normal car, you need a 4WD. The Rob Roy valley track is really worth the long drive to get to it. Moreover this is a pleasant drive as the road is surrounded by beautiful mountains and there are lots of sheep and cows on the side of the road....and sometimes also on the road! The track goes over a swing bridge, 15 minutes from the Raspberry Flat car-park, crosses the West Matukituki River, downstream from the Rob Roy Stream junction. After the bridge the track climbs through a small gorge into a very nice beech forest, where you can see birds called Keas (see picture). At the end of the track you have a very nice point of view on the Rob Roy glacier and the numerous waterfalls around it. We really liked this walk, walking in the forest is very nice, the views on the glacier are stunning and this is an easy walk, it took us 3h30 return to complete it (including a good 30min lunch break). Back in Wanaka had a relaxing time in our friendly hostel, YHA Wanaka.
