Diary of Wanaka in the year of our Covid #3

Wanaka means king in Linear B Greek

Yeah don’t ask me how it came to get a Linear B handle. It changed in 1940. Although of course it’s supposed to be "Wānaka" is the South Island dialect pronunciation of wānanga, which means sacred knowledge or a place of learning. The New Zealand Gazetteer cites the meaning as "the lore of the tohunga or priest". But New Zealanders are, in the main, laconic on this topic.

It takes about 3.5 hours to drive to Wanaka from Dunedin. It’s about 275 kms away in a North West direction and is both sunnier & warmer than Dunedin in the summer. New Zealand is currently under a ‘Traffic Light System’ so those of us not carrying ‘passes’ are not allowed to go to restaurants, swimming pools, libraries etc.

Lake Wanaka in front of the town of Wanaka

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15th Jan Saturday. Left Dunedin with Rikki (my wife) a little late. Had something to eat (we sat down Jacinda, suck on it) in Alexandra. Arrived about 9pm at Wanaka accommodation.

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16th Jan Sunday

Walked down …