Jess is a Wanderer on Grandview Mountain
Jess is a Wanderer went to Wanaka and it was as expected - beautiful, scenic and full of visitors. Roy's Peak is the famous hike which EVERYONE seems to do when in town. I went straight to the DOC (Department of Conservation) office and asked for alternatives. That's how I discovered Grandview and let me tell you... it was a grand view indeed.
Grandview Mountain is closer to Lake Hawea than Lake Wanaka but that doesn't make the hike any less appealing. In fact, if anything the fact you don't pass 3435929332 people and have to queue in certain places makes it all the more enjoyable and worthwhile.
The trailhead is about twenty minutes from Wanaka, accessed by gravel road near Hawea. It's a fairly steep climb that involves a couple of stream crossings. There are no stepping stones so, make your own path, jump or suck it up and get wet feet.
I was only around 750m from the top when my boots were rubbing so I stopped to put on a plaster. The terrain had turned to grass so I decided to actually walk for a while barefoot. When it came to putting my sock back on, I realised I must have dropped it somewhere so I arrived at the summit with one sock. It was wild!
After taking some pics, admiring the view, eating lunch and chatting with Paul and Denise (fellow hikers at the summit), I began the descent and found my sock on a fence post. Someone had kindly picked it up and put it where I'd obviously find it. Yay.
That's about as exciting as my tale gets for today. Thank goodness the view was more interesting than the story of the missing sock.