Overheard from a group of twenty-somethings at our hostel, “It is supposed to rain tomorrow….Puzzling World time!” Wait a minute! I already mentioned Puzzling World and was working on fitting it into our schedule but I was surprised to hear it was on their list too. I must be very hip!

The morning started off cloudy but suddenly the clouds began to clear and my plans were about to change. Bob decided he needed to investigate this small town that has more stores than ALL of the places we have been before but you know me…I had seen a bike trail nearby that was calling to me. So I rented a bike and headed up the coast of the Lake Wanaka. It is a lovely path that runs along side the lake allowing you to get quite wind blown until you reach the turn off to Clutha River.

Selfie!

Suddenly the path gets much smaller and hugs the cliffs and meanders happily along the river amongst the aspen trees. Ahhh..Heaven on earth! As the sky continued to clear I pushed onward enjoying the stunning views accompanied by the music of the river.

Through the trees...

...and along the river.

I turned around after an hour as I had promised Bob I would not be gone too long. And good thing I did because as I got out of the shower at the hostel the skies opened and a squall blowing tons of rain sideways came through. Perfect timing! Charisma mana!

Good thing I had such a beautiful relaxing ride because Puzzling World was work for the mind! There is a huge outdoor maze, which we passed on due to weather, an Illusion Room and a cafeteria-size room of mind-bending puzzles! The Illusion Room was incredibly well done. We will share pictures later. So amazing! Pun intended! I thought we would spend a half hour at the tables of games and boy was I wrong. Never give up! And so we spent two hours working puzzles! I loved it.

You have to keep your wits about you...

...because things are not what they seem!

Our fun-filled day ended with a happy surprise…our friends Bob and Linda from Bright Angel who have also been traveling the South Island were sitting in the living room of our hostel, having just arrived. So dinner with great company ended a terrific day!