Rock Climbing in Wanaka

Wednesday, 12 November

I'd read that Wanaka is one of the best places in the country to rock climb, so I thought it would be a great way to get out of town and a perfect place to take an intro course and learn a thing or two! 

Dave, the owner of Wanaka Rock Climbing, picked me up in the morning and we headed out towards Mt. Aspiring Nat'l Park for my private lesson :)

If you look at the picture above, you can see the two spots we climbed - we started on the far right at the first low rocks there, and then crossed the street later to do a climb sort of toward the middle left of the pic.

Harnessed up!

Dave led the first several climbs (which means he went first and clipped in the rope to the anchors along the way), and then I climbed after him secured to the rope the whole time.

Then I led a climb up a rock face that I had already climbed once before. This just means I climbed first and clipped in the rope as I went. It's a little more dangerous (thus a little more thrilling) because at first you don't have a rope to catch you if you fall and as you go higher to clip into each anchor.

Then I led a climb up the face of a more challenging climb that I hadn't climbed yet. That was really good fun and I'm glad I did that one! 

Some other guys Dave knows where there climbing near us, so I had a personal photographer snapping shots the whole time :)

Just getting to the top.

Dave met me at the top and then I abseiled down!

Oh so much fun! So glad I did this and hopefully now I've learned a thing or two that I can use some day in Cambodia with my rock-climbing friends!!