The drive to Coromandel, the eastern peninsula on the North island, took me through Auckland, and inevitably, Auckland traffic. And it was raining. I was happy to finally get through the city and turn east away from the city. My first stop on the peninsula was near the northern part of the west coast and the town of Coromandel (same name as the peninsula….). The road hugged the coast line on one side and steep mountain slopes on the other, with occasional breaks were small townships were nestled in a ravine. As I got nearer my destination, I swapped the curvy, twisting road that dropped off abruptly to the water for a curvy, twisting road that dropped off the side of a mountain ridge as I crossed one final set of hills to drop into the valley where the campground was. New Zealand does not have a lot of straight roads, or at least I have not encountered them yet! Even though I had to pay attention to the road, I would steal glances at the coastline, admiring the frequent changing colors of the water, itching to stop and take a picture but on the narrow roads, that was not a possibility.
The campground was on the water and I had a site that looked directly out over a shallow bay. It was warm when I arrived, and a bunch of young people were in the water swimming and kayaking and generally having a good time. I settled in and took the opportunity to do some laundry, sitting on the shoreline and admiring the view while waiting for my clothes to finish.
View from the campground after the storm came through. The dark blue of the sky contrasted beautifully with the green of the water.
I woke to skies threatening rain the next morning, but the weather report indicated that it would hold off until the afternoon so I decided to go hiking to visit a kauri tree grove. There are multiple groves scattered around the peninsula, all under threat by a dieback disease. To reach the trail head I had to retrace my steps about half-way back down the coastline and turn inland at a small town set in a ravine. There was only one other car in the parking area when I arrived so parking was easy. The trail head started about a quarter mile from the car park and, to protect the trees, the entrance gate to the trail had brushes for your shoes (like when you walk into a low grade clean room) and spray disinfectant—all mitigate transference of the disease killing the kauri. After doing my part to help, with freshly clean shoes, I set out along the path. The path plunged into the rainforest immediately and followed a stream back and up into the steep slopes. It was very peaceful and an enjoyable walk to the grove. At the grove, a sign indicated there was a lookout about half-mile further up so I decided, why not?
Well, about 400 stairs later, I was questioning my decision. The path to the lookout went straight up (hence the stairs). And yes, I had to stop to catch my breath every now and then- the stairs never seemed to end! At the top the path narrowed, turning into what looked like a goat track, twisting and turning around exposed tree roots as it climbed. The view from the lookout was great, however, and I was able to look back down the ravine I had just climbed up, all the way to the coast. Weirdly it did not look as steep from the top….
View from the lookout at the top of the Kauri Grove hike. It does not look as steep as it was!
I hung out a bit and then headed back down the trail/steps to hike out. My timing was perfect because as I returned down the trail, by the time I had gotten back to my camper van, I passed a dozen or so people walking in. The trail was getting crowded, but I had it all to myself- it pays to be an early bird! Also as I got to the van, a little moisture was starting to spit from the sky. Again, perfect timing!
I headed back up the coast and, having worked up a good appetite after my 2.5 hour walk, decided to stop at a road-side seafood café, well known for oysters and mussels, that sits just outside of Coromandel town. I feasted on fried oysters, mussels, shrimp and fish and the oysters and mussels were exceptionally good because they were very fresh. The rain that had started further south had not made it north yet but I could tell from the sky it was coming so I got back to the campground, settled in and pulled out my chair to watch the storm come in. From the campground it was possible to make out the hazy outline of the Bay of Islands and the storm clouds, racing across the bay towards us were very dramatic, creating spectacular lighting conditions over the water. I spent a lot of time trying to capture the changing scenes on my camera. Eventually the rain (and thunder) reached us so I retreated into my cozy camper van with my kindle and settled in to read for the rest of the day.
View of the west coast from one of the lookouts. This one was along the road going north.
This view was from the lookout I stopped at going east over the mountain range to the east coast. The view is the west coast.
I headed out the next day to drive east over the spine of mountains that run down the peninsula to spend a few days on the east coast. On my way over the summit, I stopped for a short (and steep, yet again with steps!) hike up to a great lookout to get a birds-eye view of the west bay. From my high vantage point, I could also see the east coast in the distance, as I stared directly into the expanse of the Pacific Ocean. After following the twisting and turning road down the pass and through the mountains I emerged on the east coast, which unlike the sheer drop off into the water on the west coast, had more plains and flatland between where the mountains end and the coast started. Even though my campground was south down the east coast a ways, I veered north first to check out New Chums Beach.
New Chums Beach is reputed to be one of the most beautiful beaches in New Zealand (and in some reports, also the world) but to get to it is not easy. It is not possible to drive to the beach, you must get there by hiking in from the nearby Waikawau Beach. Waikawau is a small community, maybe a few hundred (?) adjacent to a very long and popular beach. The north end of the beach has a very small parking area (most of the parking is about halfway down the beach) which is where people park for hiking to New Chums beach. When I arrived ther were about seven or eight cars there and the area was completely full. I had to park along the side of the street, in front of some of the homes. This was another instance where I wondered what happens in summer when the number of tourists go up—the street in front of all the homes along the road would be swamped with parked cars….
The boulder field that has to be navigated to get to New Chums beach. All shapes and sizes- requires attentive footwork!
To get to New Chums beach required a traverse of a boulder field. I was there at low tide and I am not sure how passable the boulders are at high tide. As I carefully picked my way through the boulders around the point I could see evidence of water all the way up to the shore line. It was hard to spot the narrow trail that emerged from the trees and I missed it the first time, stumbling past on the boulders further than I should have. Another guy was out on the rocks looking and we teamed up, realizing we had gone too far. Backtracking we found the trail and from there it was an easy walk to the beach. The beach was beautiful, a secluded flat expanse of white sand, gently sloping into the water, located in a protected bay. I could easily see the attraction. I hung out for a while and headed back. Again my timing was perfect because I passed a lot of people heading to the beach as I was leaving; it was going to get crowded. I was not looking forward to dealing with the boulder field again but figured at least I was getting a balance and cardio workout! Sure enough when I got back to my camper van, the cars along the street extended forward about three more houses.
But the reward is worth the trouble. The beach is very nice and well protected.
I headed south towards my next campground in Hahei, also located on a beach. (Beaches are a theme in the northern part of the North Island!). After checking in and getting the camper van connected, a few steps found me on the Hahei beach and I took a stroll down the beach before chilling out and making dinner.
I picked Hahei as a stop because it was close to two interesting areas I wanted to visit—Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach. There are multiple ways to get to Cathedral Cove, hiking, kayaks and water taxis that depart from Hahei beach, glass bottom boats etc.. What you cannot do is drive there. Like New Chums Beach, Cathedral Cove, which gets its name for the large rock arch that dominates the beach, is not accessible by road. Hahia, another very tiny township that gets overwhelmed in the summer, set up a car park on the outskirts of town and runs a shuttle from the carpark to the trail head for Cathedral Cove. It is a brilliant way to manage the crowds! But I did not have to worry about parking my camper van anywhere, I simply walked to the trail head from the campground. The walk was about an hour although I diverted near the beach to hike the loop trail that led to a lookout with a wonderful view around the corner from the beach. (more hills!)
Unlike the other places I had been, even though I got to the beach mid-morning, it was a bee hive of activity. Two different kayak groups were milling about on shore and it looked like one school group was congregating at the far end of the beach, having rowed in on inflatable rafting boats. The rest of the occupants were a mix of hikers like me who came to check out the beach and sun-bathers who had hiked over to stay and soak up the sun. The people watching was excellent so I found some shade and hung out for 30 minutes. It was shortly after noon when I left and I passed even more people on the way to the beach. Yikes!
The scenery was equally stunning looking inland. This view was from a point on the hike to Cathedral Cove, looking west.
At the lookout just past Cathedral Cove, which is right around the corner down the shoreline.
Back at the campground I checked in at reception to rent a shovel, a required tool for a visit to Hot Water Beach, my next stop and only a ten-minute drive from the campground. Hot Water Beach got its name because of the geothermal activity that runs near the surface under part of the beach. The sand is actually hot and if you dig a hole you can create a hot tub—except the water can be so hot, it necessary to add sea water to cool it down. I was not sure what to expect but when I got to the beach, it was clear where the right spots to dig where—there were a ton of people in one localized spot and the beach was peppered with deep holes and trenches. I headed over to check it out. It was kind of hilarious because no one was really sure where to dig exactly and several of the deep holes only had cold water in them. Asking around I found the area where the warm (and hot) water was originating. A couple from England and I teamed up to extend a trench that had a hot water source so we had a place to sit. Some German kids and an Australian family joined in.
….and this is why Cathedral Cove gets its name. Notice the people for scale.
There was a very distinct line between where warm water was originating and when the temperature of the sand became scalding. The woman from England (I never got her name) and I were sitting right at the edge of that line and pushing the hot water down the trench towards the others. Across the barren spot where no one could sit because it was too hot, was another group lounging in their pools. In front and back of us (towards and away from the water) others were also lounging in hot pools. Others still were trying to figure out where else to dig. It was chaos with digging happening everywhere and sand piling up in huge mounds randomly. I sat and chatted with my new friend from England for a while, until my finders started to prune up, then decided to head out. Before doing so I walked down to the water’s edge, walking through the sand trying to track by temperature where the thermal energy was located. Sure enough, I immediately found hot sand as my foot sunk into the sand as the waves washed out. It was hot enough that I jumped and moved pretty quickly. It was a weird sensation to have the cold water washing over my foot while the bottom of my foot was threatened with getting burnt!
I really did not want to torture you with pics of random people in bathing suites, but I think a picture helps convey the chaos.
After that great adventure and unusual experience I headed back to the campground, turned in my shovel and went to take a shower to get all the sand off of myself and my swim suit. I turned in early as the following day, I had a long drive to Rotorua, with a few stops along the way.
I am back in camper van mode, but on the North Island. Since I rented the exact make/model of the camper van that I had in the South Island, it was a bit like coming home- I had my storage and logistics system already established and was familiar with all of the equipment. I planned my vehicle pickup to avoid rush hour as I headed out of Auckland to explore the northern most areas of the North Island to start my clockwise three-week journey around the island. My first destination was Paihia, a popular holiday spot in the Bay of Islands on the east coast. I booked a campground for four nights, as there was a lot of interesting places to explore in the area.
Leaving Auckland I decided to drive up the west coast as long as possible before having to cut over to the east coast to get to my destination. I did not mind the extra 30 minutes added to the drive because I knew I would be driving down the east coast on my return as I headed to Coromandel; a drive up the west coast meant I was guaranteed to see different things. As I headed north out of Auckland I quickly encountered an agricultural landscape, similar to the South Island populated with sheep and cattle. However, in addition to the livestock, I passed numerous orchards growing many kinds of citrus, avocados, kiwis and even some olives. Instead of the steep, dramatic, jagged mountains, I encountered sub-tropical vegetation and rolling hills. But, like the South Island, the color green, in all of its varied shades, was dominant.
It took about four hours to get to Paihia, with a few stops, including one for groceries, and I was happy to relax once I got the campground, which was located just outside of town. The woman who checked me in at the campground was very friendly and we had a lengthly discussion about activities in the area during which she provided some advice and insight on options. One of my goals was to get to the northern most point of the North Island at Cape Reinga, although I was not looking forward to the three hour drive (one-way) to do so. She pointed out that there was a coach tour based out of Paihia that went to the Cape and spoke highly of the excursion. Coupled with the fact that by combining that trip with a cruise through the Bay of Islands (which I was going to do anyway) there was a discount combo package– well my decision was an easy one. I promptly booked both!
The water in the Bay of Islands is ever changing, from deep greens to deep blues based on the depths. Stunning!
The next morning I got up early and walked 20 minutes into town to the wharf for the Bay of Island cruise. The half-day(ish) cruise stopped at Russell, a historic town and the first capital of New Zealand, situated directly across the bay from Paihia, before heading out of the bay to see the famous “hole in the rock”, followed by another stop at Urupukapuka Island, a small island with a beach, hiking paths, cafe and activities before returning back to the Paihia wharf. The boat was fairly full, accommodating two different sets of school kids out on field trips, as we headed for Urupukapuka island to drop them off before heading to the “hole in the rock”. The schools were almost out for the summer and the kids were clearly excited to be out of the classroom. One of the schools was a Maori school; the teachers and parents spoke Maori, which is an official language of New Zealand, to the kids the whole time although I head some English bandied about too. The boat got a lot quieter when the kids got off…..
We continued our cruise through the bay heading northeast towards Cape Brett where the Pacific Ocean meets the bay and the unusual “hole in the rock” formation is located. The wind was out of the east creating gentle swells, rocking the boat gently, as we traversed the bay. The water color was an amazing rainbow of greens and blues and every combination thereof. The Bay of Islands is called such because of the numerous islands of various sizes that dot the bay, the depth changes around the islands driving the changing water colors. The sky was blue and the temperature was comfortable- it was a great day to be on the water. As we got nearer to the Cape and started to leave the bay, however, the wind got stronger and the swells got more dramatic causing several people on the boat to get sick. The “hole in the rock” is just that — a large arched hole in a rock formation that can accommodate a boat passage. Because of the wave action, we did not go through it, but our 300 person catamaran would have fit easily. There is probably some geological and hydrodynamic explanation for why there is a large, perfect hole cut through the rock, but I am not privy to it. But it looked dramatic. We also saw the historic lighthouse perched at Cape Brett, once a critical component to navigating the bay safely. The lighthouse keepers house still stands and can be rented; it is a seven hour trek to get there though (or you could get dropped off by boat…). If you are looking for a remote location to hang out at, this is the spot!
The famous “hole in the rock”. Usually the boats drive through it but the sea state was not cooperating for us. Still cool to see though.
We did not stay long at the “hole in the rock” due to the rough seas and were soon back in the relatively calm waters of the bay. The captain dropped us off at Urupukapuka Island where we had an hour to relax and enjoy the beach. The two school groups we had dropped off earlier were still there- clearly enjoying the beach. I had planned to do some hiking but the blue sky, sun and warm weather, combined with the beautiful beach, lured me in and I plopped down on some grass just beyond the beach and turned into a lizard, soaking up the sun and watching the kids frolic in the water (which I think was still rather cold…). It was very relaxing. The hour passed by too quickly and soon the boat was back to pick us up. The next stop was Russell, where I got off, intending to explore a bit before grabbing a water taxi to get me back to Paihia later in the day. (Russell and Paihia are only 15 minutes apart by water taxi, but if you had to drive around the bay the trip would take over seven hours.)
Russell, as I mentioned earlier, is a historic town and was, at one time, known as the “Hell hole of the Pacific” because of the general lawlessness of the settlers, visitors, miners and explorers who all descended on the island before any formal authority was in existence. The town center is still small, only two streets, with residential areas spread out in the surrounding hills. Flagstaff Hill is short, but steep 30 minute walk from the town center, offering spectacular views of the whole bay. I wandered up there and sat on a bench for a bit, overlooking the bay and enjoying the weather, before heading back to explore the town. After browsing through art galleries and shops and stopping for a glass of wine in the Duke of Marlborough Hotel, in operation since 1827 and holding the first liquor license in New Zealand, I hopped on a water taxi and headed back to Paihia and the walk back to the campground.
The New Zealand Christmas tree, also know as the Pohutukawa tree, has stunning red flowers and is in bloom all over the place.
Since the next day was Thanksgiving (in the U.S), I spent the morning calling my siblings (yay wi-fi calling!) and catching up with them, so I got a late start to the day. Luckily, my next destination, the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, was within walking distance of the campground. The North Island, and especially the areas north of Auckland, saw numerous events that led to the founding of the country. As the Europeans arrived, the many Maori tribes exposed to the newcomers, engaged in trade with them. In time, the tribes also sought to export and engage in trade in Australia and other nearby islands. The Waitangi Treaty Grounds played host to a treaty uniting the tribes, mainly on the North Island, in a union with Britian as well as the creation of a Declaration of Independence, to facilitated trade and establish authorities. I spent several hours exploring the history of New Zealand (did you know they have two official flags?) and how the relationship between the native Maori and the European immigrants evolved over time, for better and worse. I also watched a Maori cultural show that included a song and dance performance. It was super interesting, and I highly recommend a visit to the Treaty Grounds if you are ever in the area.
Part of the cultural performance I saw at the Treaty Grounds.
Saturday started bright and early with a 7:30am coach pickup right at the campground for my trip to Cape Reinga. Our driver, Barry, who was a Maori, was very experienced and knowledgeable and kept a running commentary during the whole trip on the countryside, customs, people, and sights that we passed. He also had a wonderful sense of humor, so his discourse was both educational and entertaining. Our route was going to take us up the west coast of the island, driving along 90 mile beach and back down the east coast. Before we got to 90 mile beach, we stopped twice to pick up additional clients, resulting in an almost full coach.
Ninety-mile beach is not actually 90 miles, but closer to 55 or so. It is a broad, flat, long sand beach that runs up the west coast. Only four-wheel drivee vehicles are allowed on the beach and NO rental cars are allowed at all. The company I booked the coach tour with is the only company allowed to drive a bus on the beach. Getting access to the beach is no problem- the road we were on literally ended at the beach. When the road ended, we kept going and suddenly were on the beach, intersecting it about 17km south of the northern exit. About half-way down the beach we stopped for some sand surfing. Barry handed out boogie boards to anyone who wanted to try. After a brief lesson, he led everyone up a nearby dune and helped them go down the first time, on the beginner slope. After that, people were free to try the “fast” slope and the “jump” slope. I did not do it, but it was fun to watch. There were several other cars on the beach, some fishing, others wading in the cold water of the Tasman sea. Some hikers passed by and Barry mentioned that hiking the 90 mile beach, which takes about three days, is a popular trek.
Long, flat and desolate: the ninety-mile beach that is not 90 miles.
Sand surfing on the 90 mile beach.
After our interlude on the beach, we continued our journey north, passing sheep, cattle and multitudes of orchards. Barry commented on each small town we went through and taught us some Maori words. We stopped for lunch in a beautiful bay with a lively surf that looked manageable for swimming and apparently is a popular spot in the summer. It was a short drive from lunch to the Cape. Cape Reinga is a sacred place for the Maori culture as it is believed that all departed spirits gather first at the Cape before launching themselves into the afterlife. Consequently, Barry shared with us the traditional Maori prayer required when both approaching and departing the area. It was fascinating listening to the syllables of the language and trying to understand the pronunciation- I have routinely had trouble correctly pronouncing the names of cities with Maori names (most cities in the North island and a large number in the South island have Maori names). There was a small lighthouse at the Cape and even more interesting, the Cape is the place where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet. Looking out over the edge of land, the swirling green and blue water meets in a violent clash, shifting sand around and creating further graduations of both colors.
Right behind me is where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet (green water meets deep blue water).
Bay facing north where the two bodies of water meet. North most accessible point on the north island.
After an hour at the Cape, we piled back into the bus and began the nearly three-hour drive back to Paihia. We had a washroom stop at a café attached to a famous Maori wood-worker’s studio. He had built his studio around the remains of a kauri tree excavated from a swamp. The tree was 37’ in circumference and after heroic efforts to get the tree out of the swamp, he had it set up, built a staircase on the inside of it and bult around it. The kauri trees grow large, straight and without knots, making them highly prized for woodworking, making canoes and were sought after by early European explorers to make new masts for their ships. The Treaty Grounds also had the remains of a kauri tree, used to make a ceremonial canoe and the size of it was incredible.
I was back at the campground shortly before 6pm—a long day but a good one. I was really glad I chose to take the tour and not drive! But after the trip I can say that I have been to the northern most and southern most point on the South Island and the northern most (accessible) point on the North Island. Way cool!
The next morning I headed out of Paihia to make my way south to one more Bay of Islands stop before heading to Coromandel. Before heading south, however, I went north to Kerikeri, roughly a 20 minute drive, to do the hike to Rainbow Falls. The hike starts at a building called the Stone Store, which has been in business since the mid-1800s. It sits on the river in a very picturesque spot, surrounding by green lawn and two cafes. The hike to the waterfall took me about an hour and I spent some time there taking pictures and talking to some of the friendly kiwis who were there. I was lucky – I made it back to my camper van just before the rain started—it had been overcast all morning and I had anticipated getting wet during the hike. Mission accomplished I set out for the three-hour drive south to Matakana and the surrounding beaches where I was staying for two nights. The weather varied the whole drive, sometimes raining quite strongly, others just a mist and at other times, no rain at all. Unfortunately, when I got to my campground, it was raining strongly so I plugged in the van and hunkered down for the rest of the day.
This is an example of how big a kauri tree can get. A large waka (canoe) was made from this tree.
An artist carved a staircase in the trunk of a dead kauri tree and built his shop around it. This tree is between 40,000-50,000 years old and was 1000 years old when it fell. Incredible! It was dug out of a swamp.
I woke the next day to a sunny sky so decided to head to the Goat Island Marine Reserve, located slightly northwest of my campground. The reserve is a marine protected area popular with snorkelers and swimmers and sure enough, when I got there a school group was gearing up to go snorkeling. (I am not sure if it was the school group staying at the campground with me or not.) My goal was to hike along the coastal track, rather than to get in the water and it was a peaceful hour and a half walk as I saw no one else the whole time. When I got back to the reserve, however, more people had arrived, some swimming and some walking on the rocks. I suspect this is a very popular spot in the summer.
Rainbow falls outside of Kerikeri. It was a nice walk through a rainforest to get to the falls. More good conditioning for future hikes!
Leaving the marine reserve I headed south to check out another popular summer spot, Omaha Beach. Omaha Beach is a sleepy residential community but the beach is huge, with gently sloping white sand and apparently attracts lots of weekend visitors from Auckland, only an hour away. There were a few people sunbathing and fewer still actually in the water, which was a bit cold still. I walked along the beach for a while, stopping to chat with a woman and young lady who were riding horses along the shoreline (which looked like fun!).
My next stop was the Sculptorium, a unique art gallery/museum. The owners had been collecting art – mainly, but not exclusively, sculptures and glass – for many years and decided to create a property to display their collection. The main building has six galleries and two internal “hidden” gardens, all packed with a variety of art from different media, different countries, different styles—all interesting. Outside in front of the main building is a sculpture garden, a mixture of flowers, plants and sculptures discoverable via a meandering kilometer long path throughout. I spent hours wandering through the whole place reading the inscriptions about the art and artist. I think equally interesting would have been information about how the collectors found the different artists and art….
Goat Island Marine Reserve
I finished my afternoon by stopping at a local brewery for a dark beer and a bite to eat before heading back to the campground to soak in the sun and enjoy the water (the campground is on one of the numerous shallow bays in the area).
After a wonderful relaxing ten day stay at Carol and James Airbnb in Arthurs Point I headed over for a three day stay in Cromwell. Cromwell is only about an 45 minutes from Queenstown but the geography is completely different. Unlike Queenstown, which is surrounded by tall, steep, snow-capped mountains, Cromwell, another wine growing region, has a topography that reminds me a bit of Southern California– tall, bare, rocky hills surrounded by green vineyards that climb the slopes as high as they can. I had done a wine tasting excursion from Queenstown but when I had been doing my research realized it would be handy to be based out of Cromwell, too, in order to more easily access some of the eastern wine growing areas.
I did not head directly to Cromwell, however. Leaving Arthurs Point I turned northeast, instead of south into town, heading for Arrowtown. I had not yet investigated the small, historic mining community, saving that for my drive to Cromwell as the route allowed me to avoid the traffic that always exists when driving east through Queenstown. Arrowtown is a historic mining town with remains of a small Chinatown, occupied by the huge amount of Cantonese miners that came to New Zealand in the mid-1800’s to participate in the gold rush. The town is also the jumping off point for several cycle paths. Add a picturesque downtown area with bars, restaurants and stores and it shouldn’t have surprised me to find a full parking lot and a lot of activity when I arrived. I found a parking spot near the river (happy I did not have to negotiate a camper van through the tight spaces) and set out to explore the town. I found a bakery and tried one of their pies– which seems to be a developing theme for me– and sat down to enjoy the day before the rain that threatened arrived. I also explored the remains of the Chinatown, enjoying the storyboards at the different locations which explained the history. I spent a couple of hours wandering around and left when the sky opened up and the rain started.
I had one other stop to make on my way to Cromwell, the Kawarau Gorge suspension bridge, made world-famous as the iconic “bungy jumping” bridge of New Zealand. When I was in New Zealand with friends in 1990, A.J Hackett and his partners had started the bungy jumping craze at the very same bridge; it was still going on, even though under a different name. I had no desire to jump in 1990 and still did not have a desire to jump, but I wanted to stop by and check out the action. Luckily it was only slightly misting at the bridge, which was not enough to stop the operations, so I stayed there for a bit to watch people jump. The most surprising thing was that it is possible to jump as a couple now, and not just individually. I was a bit dumbfounded to see a couple, tied together at the ankles, with their arms around each other, take the plunge! I still think it’s crazy……(some things don’t change in 35 years).
The iconic NZ bungy jumping spot. After the bungy comes to rest, they lower you to a boat and untie you. You walk back up the hill.
I had a nice drive over to Cromwell through the Kawarau River gorge, outrunning the rain and finding myself back in sunshine and easily found my Airbnb, which was nicely located within walking distance of everything in town. The next morning I set out on foot to find the information center to get a copy of the “wine strolling” route I had read about, a comfortable way to visit a bunch of wineries (no driving!). After searching for the info center with no luck, I stopped in a hotel to ask for help and was told the info center had closed. The nice lady at the reception desk provided me an update on the wineries within walking distance and a map. Studying the map I decided I could walk in a counter-clockwise circle around Cromwell and hit between three and four wineries, so I set out south to find the first one.
After a short ten minute walk, I found the first two, which were right next to each other. I spent a pleasant time sampling at both and talking with the proprietor of the second, who as I tasted and explained what I liked and did not, kept providing other suggestions. Eight samples later, I was ready for a walk! Cromwell sits on Lake Dunstan, which was formed when dams were built to create hydroelectric power. As I exited the last tasting room, I followed the directions I had been given to find a path along the lake that led to the historic district of Cromwell. It was a nice sunny day and I was not the only one out walking. As I strolled on the path I caught up with two women, Carol and Helen, who were also out enjoying the weather. We started talking and I walked with them to the historic district where we sat down and had a drink together. They were super friendly and ended up inviting me to dinner with them and their husbands at a local club that evening. I accepted (because, why not???). Plans made, we separated and I headed out to visit one final winery for the day.
The last winery was actually very near my Airbnb, about a fifteen minute walk from the historic district, so I knew I had time to stop by before being home in time for dinner. I enjoyed a Pinot Noir tasting on a scenic hill overlooking Cromwell before heading home. Carol and her husband were going to pick my up for dinner and I wanted to be ready. The club they took me to for dinner reminded me of the Moose Lodge or Knights of Columbus Hall in my home town growing up. It was very causal, they had music, which some were dancing to,, a bar, a casual restaurant and pool. I had a nice dinner with Carol and her husband Mike, and Helen and her husband Jeff. Helen and Jeff were visiting from the North Island; Carol and Mike moved to Cromwell a few years earlier (from the North Island). We had such a good time, they Carol invited me to dinner the following night with the four of them at her house, which turned out was only a 15 minute walk from my Airbnb. I accepted (because, why not???).
Standing at the 45th South Parallel sign.
The next morning I decided to go explore the 45th parallel walk, which had some scenic views of the lake and surrounding area. The hike was named for the fact that the path intersects the southern 45th parallel, which does not intersect land very often. The starting point was easy to find, only 10 minutes from my Airbnb, because there was a marker for the 45th parallel by the highway. The hike to the hill was straight up a steep slope, luckily broken up a bit by steps that had been built into the hillside. At the top was a loop with a bench that overlooked the lake. I sat for a while and watched some of the boat traffic on the lake. It was another sunny, warm day and there were about a dozen boats on the lake, some towing water skiers. The water looked way too cold for me to consider dipping in a toe; I hoped the water skiers were wearing wet suits! I had the whole place to myself, only seeing another person as I descended.
It’s hard to see, but this is the steep hill (with stairs) I had to climb.
But the view from the top was excellent. This is looking back at Cromwell.
I headed back to the Airbnb to shower and do some work before heading over to Carol and Mike’s for dinner. Dinner was lovely and we had a great time, covering a lot of different topics, while we sat around. It turned out that the next day was Mike’s birthday, so we even had a birthday cake. I headed out before dark, as I was walking back to my Airbnb, thanking them profusely for their hospitality.
The next day I headed, retracing my steps partially back towards Queenstown, to visit the Goldfelds Mining museum. The site encompassed an old gold mining camp, with buildings and equipment still strewn about. The mines, small, dark holes in the ground or rock walls, were also in evidence, but were locked up as they were not safe to enter anymore. There were a couple of different trails through the site and I wandered around poking into different areas. I also participated in a guided tour which was interesting as the guide explained what the equipment was for and how it worked. Of course, they had gold panning available for those who wanted to try their luck. I tried one pan just to say I did it (and no, I did not find gold).
Stone, one-room huts occupied by the Cantonese miners that lived in this area searching for gold.
A mine, still with the rusted old trolley in front of it.
There were two more wineries that I wanted to visit, south of Cromwell in Bannockburn, so after I was done at the gold mining museum I headed over to Bannockburn. It was another lovely day and I lingered at both wineries as they both sat on hills overlooking the lake. I had a wonderful conversation with the Italian gentleman who ran the wine tasting at one of the wineries. We talked wine, but he also gave me some good suggestions for what to see on the North Island.
The North Island is my next stop. I headed to the airport the following day and got on a flight to Auckland where I am going to pick up another camper van and spend three weeks roaming around the North Island.
After turning in my camper van in Christchurch I checked in to my airport hotel and jumped on the bus to head down to the botanical garden to see if the roses were in bloom (recall when I was there a month ago, they were not). Well a month makes a difference in the life of a rose in the spring, because when I got to the rose garden it was a riot of color! I spent a few hours slowly working my way around to all of the blossoms, admiring their color and scent. After grabbing a bite at a restaurant along the river, I jumped on the bus and headed back to the hotel, ready to start the next adventure- my two week stay in the Queenstown area.
Just one small part of the Christchurch rose garden.
Flying domestic in New Zealand is like a step back in time, before 9/11 in the U.S. I self-checked in, got a bag tag and a boarding pass, went directly to the gate and got on the plane. At no time did I have to go through security and at no time did anyone check my ID against my boarding pass. Super simple and no hassles! After driving a camper van around for a month, I was very comfortable driving the small car I rented, even in the dense traffic that exists in Queenstown. My Airbnb was not located in Queenstown proper, however, but in Arthur’s Point, a 10 minute drive northwest past the Queenstown city line. I wanted a place that was peaceful and off the beaten path and the bonus was a hot tub that came with the rental. My plan for Queenstown was to do some touring, chill out a bit, and catch up on work/projects that needed my attention, so I kept a leisurely pace. Arriving at the Airbnb I discovered it was everything I hoped for– there was an amazing view and my hosts, James and Carol, were very welcoming and accommodating. And I definitely got a lot of use out of the hot tub!
Sunrise from my Airbnb. (No photoshopping- these are the actual colors!)
Sunset from my Airbnb. I took a ton of pictures from the deck, trying to capture the different light changes. It was a beautiful view-always.
The next day I headed down to Queenstown to hike the Queenstown hill. The city sits on the shore of Lake Wakatipu and almost immediately backs up into the steep mountains that surround the lake. Queenstown hill is a steep 3 mile hike, gaining 1300 ft of elevation, up to a scenic viewpoint offering 360 degree views. Depending on the source it is rated either as moderate or hard, but for someone who has not worked out on hills for a while, I rate it as hard! The steep slope started early as I walked from the parking lot the three blocks to the trail head. The trail wandered through a forest before emerging into exposed meadow. I took it slow, rested occasionally, but I finally made it to the top and since the weather was perfect, I sat and lingered for a while, soaking in the scenery. As always, going down took half the time as going up. I wandered around the city center for a bit to get a feel for it, stopped at a pub and had some mussels, then headed back to my Airbnb to relax.
The number of small lakes available to try to capture lovely mirror images were too good to pass up. This is one of my favorites.
View of Queenstown from Queenstown hill.
One of my other goals during my stay in Queenstown was to do some wine tasting so after consulting with Carol, who knows quite a lot about the wine scene in the area, I joined a wine tasting excursion. I had to meet them in Queenstown, so I got to the city center early and found a bakery (a place literally called “The Bakery”) to grab a pie for breakfast. The van met me at the meeting point and we proceeded to pick others up at their hotels. There were twelve of us total and we visited four wineries, including one, Gibbston Valley Wineries, that had constructed a cave into the nearby hill for barrel storage. It was interesting learning about the history of wine production in the Otago region (started by two guys about 40 years ago) and the evolution of the industry. The region is world famous for Pinot Noir and I can attest to that, as I found the best Pinot I have ever tasted, and several others that were quite good. Apparently one of the original founders still makes wines and has consistently won international awards for his Pinot Noir. (I am going to order some when I stop traveling!!!) Needless to say I went home with a couple of bottles for my immediate enjoyment…
In the wine cave at Gibbston Valley winery. The Otago valley has some great wines!!
The next day was Saturday and it was cold and overcast so I stayed home and worked most of the day. The other motivating factor driving me to stay put was the Queenstown Marathon, scheduled for Saturday morning. Multiple streets and parking lots were going to be closed most of the day and Queenstown, being a relatively small town, did not have the infrastructure to compensate. The day before, as we were driving through town towards the wineries, we had run into absolutely horrible traffic as all of the race participants headed for the event center to pick up their race packets. Apparently about 15,000 people were in town to run either the marathon itself, the half-marathon or the 10K! Consequently, I stayed away from the chaos.
Lake Wakatipu is long and serpentine, with Queenstown sitting at a bend about half-way down the length. I had driven down the eastern shoreline when I drove from Wanaka to Te Anau earlier in October, but I also wanted to explore the western part of the lake. One of the unique ways to do that was by taking a cruise on the TSS Earnslaw, a coal-fired steamship that has been in operation on the lake for over 100 years. The ship cruises across the lake to the Walter Peak High Country Farm, a working sheep station. The farm also has a restaurant and offers a BBQ buffet, farm tours, and sheep shearing demonstrations. I decided to include the BBQ buffet in my ticket and make an afternoon of it. The cruise across the lake was beautiful. The mountain views change significantly by changing your viewpoint, with new peaks winking into view as you round a corner. The sun was out and the brilliant blue sky competed with the blue hues of the lake. I did take some time to investigate the engine room and watch the men shovel coal into the ovens and watch the two large engines operate.
Picture of the ship taken from my seat at the BBQ. It had dropped us off and was heading back across the lake.
After enjoying the BBQ buffet, with a window seat to enjoy the views, I wandered over to the sheep shearing demonstration. It was actually quite hilarious. The gentleman who did the demo explained that if you position the sheep such that their four legs are not on the ground, they don’t quite know what to do and just sit there confused. He proceeded to illustrate his point, hauling the sheep out of the pen on its back by grabbing two legs. The sheep certainly looked bewildered and was totally docile. Apparently a fast shearer can do a whole sheep in around two minutes. The farm consists of 63,000 hectares of land all backed up into the mountains with no road access, so their thousands of sheep roam freely. Consequently they use border collies trained as sheepdogs to round up the sheep when necessary. We also got a demonstration of how the dogs work,, which consist of crouching and turning a predatory eye on the sheep, forcing them to move by sheer will power. (The collies don’t use barking, unlike some techniques used in England.) It was an impressive display of control. The dogs are highly trained and don’t come cheap, usually costing between $5000-$10,000 NZD!
Sheep shearing demo. The sheep was remarkably chill….
The next day, even though the weather looked marginal, with an overcast sky and threat of rain, I decided to do the walk around Lake Hayes, a small lake east of Queenstown and just before reaching the wine country. I had spotted the lake when we were on the wine tour and noted the walking path. I parked at the lot and set out south around the lake, but after 15 minutes, had to turn back as the path was flooded. A runner passed me, he had run through the water, and informed me the water was ankle deep over the path for about a kilometer. I decided to walk in the other direction and see how far I would get before hitting the flooded area. Circumventing the lake in the opposite direction, I passed by several people with wet shoes, who apparently had waded through the flooded portion. When I reached the flooded portion, I decided to wade through it, but to do so barefoot. Taking off my shoes and socks and carrying them in my hand, I proceeded to gingerly step along the path. I did so gingerly because the path was composed of small, somewhat sharp, rocks; it was slow going. I recalled the guy I saw walking barefoot up the trail, of similar rocks, on the west coast and again, wondered how he did it. It took me a while to clear the kilometer of flooded path, but I made it!
The next sunny day I headed back down to Queensland and bought a ticket for the gondola that provides a lift up to another hilltop adjacent to the city center. The Queenstown gondola is the steepest one in the southern hemisphere and we seemed to be heading directly up! It is possible to walk up the steep mountain face, but I decided to keep my energy for the hike I was going to do at the top. The gondola terminates at a restaurant, overlook point and includes access to a parasailing adventure and luge (on wheels) ride. The location is also a jump-off point for a series of mountain bike trails and the Ben Lomond trek, which goes first to a saddle (called Bob’s saddle) then, for those who are in really good shape, to a summit with 360 degree views. The trek is very steep and is pretty much uphill the whole time. (The 4km to the saddle had an elevation change of about 1km.) Before reaching Bob’s saddle, a trail branched off to Arthur’s Point and emerges just slightly up the mountain from the Airbnb I was staying at. I had hiked part of that trail from the Airbnb, which followed the ridge line around the mountain towards Queenstown, to a different scenic overlook. Today I continued on to Bob’s saddle.
View of the steepest gondola in the southern hemisphere.
View from the gondola on the way up.
Finally, after two hours of steady climbing, I reached Bob’s saddle. The hike up to the summit, another hour past the saddle, is steeper still and very exposed – I decided to stop at the saddle. (Again, missing the physical fitness I had in Nepal…..) The views were wonderful and I hung out for a while soaking them in–yes, this is a theme but New Zealand is everywhere so stunning! Returning down the mountain took only half the time and I sympathized with every person I passed ascending, knowing the climb they had yet to complete. I was starving when I got back to the gondola and decided to head back down to the city center and try the world famous Fergburger, a burger restaurant that apparently is a “must-do” in Queenstown. The establishment included a bakery, bar and gelato counter as well as their famous burger joint. I had tried one of their pies from the bakery and it was tasty but had been on the fence about jumping into the ridiculously long lines to try a burger. But after the hike, as hungry as I was, I thought I would go check the line and make a decision. Since it was around 3pm, and between lunch and dinner, the line was only 15 people deep (instead of twice that!) so I placed my order for a lamb burger. It was good, but I think the hype around the place may be a bit exaggerated.
View of Queenstown from Bob’s saddle.
View into the surrounding valley opposite Queenstown from Bob’s saddle.
My final adventure in Queenstown, before moving to Cromwell for a few days, was a drive to Glenorchy. Glenorchy sits at the northwest top of the lake were the Dart River flows into the lake, draining from the west coast spine of mountains. The number of drives in New Zealand claiming to be the most scenic are numerous, and with good reason, but the drive to Glenorchy was especially outstanding. As the road wound along the bend, exiting Queenstown, I was confronted with an eastern view of the tall spine of mountains I had driven through to get to Milford Sound. (see featured image) As a matter of fact, a twenty minute airplane ride directly over the mountains west of Glenorchy leads to Milford Sound! It took about an hour, with a few stops, to get to the small town of Glenorchy. The paved highway continued about 12km beyond the town before changing to an unpaved, gravel road winding up and back towards several trailheads and multi-day challenging hikes. I stopped in Glenorchy to do some local hiking; rain was threatening again and I did not feel like dealing with a gravel road in a potential rainstorm. The mountains were stunning and it is no wonder that some of the filming of Lord of the Rings took place in this area. After my hike and a bit of lunch, I headed back to Queenstown. It was VERY hard to not try to catch one last glimpse of those impressive mountains in my rear view mirror as I was driving back along the lake!
My last evening at the Airbnb, James and Carol and I sat on the deck and had wine and cheese and chatted. James started a fire in their outdoor fireplace and some neighbors stopped by. It was a nice evening and a perfect send off as I headed to Cromwell for the remainder of my time on the South Island.
My next stop after Dunedin, Oamaru, was less than a two hour drive so I was not in a hurry to depart early. My first stop was only 30 minutes north of Dunedin, the Orokonui Ecosanctuary, a reserve that was created to house threatened native species and habitats. New Zealand has (had) a large number of species of flightless birds and the invasion of possums, rats, and ferrets, who eat the eggs of the native species, has been responsible for pushing many of them to the threatened and endangered lists. As the matter of fact the government has declared open season on possums (and I have noticed an extraordinary large number of dead possums on the road- whether that is a reflection of aggressive driving or the sheer numbers of possums that must be in the country, I have no idea!) in an attempt to re-balance the ecosystem in favor of the native animal kingdom. Consequently, the ecosanctuary focuses on creating a safe habitat without any of the imported predators. There are trails all over the property for visitors to stroll on to spot some of the inhabitants. I spent two hours wandering around, enjoying the trees and rainforest and watching the antics of several of the bird species– the kaka (think parrot-like) and Takahe, a flightless bird that is much less shy than the kiwi (also housed at the sanctuary).
Not as shy as kiwis, but just as threatened, all six of the resident takahes, including two chicks, were out wandering around. They are still critically endangered.
I fixed some lunch (self-contained camper van!) before I left and headed north towards Oamaru. I had one more stop to make before hunting down my campground and home for the next two days– the Moeraki Boulders. A collection of the large spherical boulders sit on a beach near the town of Moeraki and are unusual enough to attract attention. Certainly they were impressive looking and it seemed rather strange to see them clumped together on the beach like a discarded set of giant marbles, but what was fascinating to me were the ones that had broken apart. The boulders are apparently hollow inside and are composed of mud, fine silt, clay and cemented by calcite (I checked Wikipedia-go there to get the details) and they have cracks that radiate from the hollow center, which is how they fall apart. The broken ones kind of looked like large eggs that gave way for something to emerge…. Super interesting!
Moeraki Boulders on the beach. They are amazingly spherical (or almost) and seem to be scattered around randomly.
More interesting (at least to me) were the broken ones. Doesn’t it look like something burst out?
My next stop was Oamaru and the campground, which was right on the water at the marina and near the city center. Oamaru (population of about 23,000 in the general area) has a Victorian precinct, only a few blocks from the marina, consisting of a collection of well preserved Victorian buildings that house restaurants, shops and art galleries. For some reason I have yet to discover, the town is also big on “steampunk”, which is a science-fiction/fantasy genre that ties into the Victorian era. A well-known attraction is “Steampunk HQ”, an exhibit of artifacts and samples of that genre. My curiosity drove me to check it out, but quite frankly I did not (nor still do not) get it. The town hosts Victorian (and steampunk) festivals that draw lots of people year round. There are several breweries and an excellent bakery so my further exploration was rewarded.
Steampunk HQ in Oamaru. I don’t get it and was underwhelmed but if you are into that kind of thing…..well, I did not get it.
One of the other activities that Oamaru is famous for is their blue penguin colonies and conservation work. The colonies were situated at the far end of the marina from town, about 10 minutes walk from the campground- the campground was in an excellent (!) location. The blue penguins, also known as fairy penguins, are the smallest of the penguin species and only found in New Zealand and Australia. They spend their days at sea and return to the nests at night. The colony area has been established as a sanctuary but it is possible, under very controlled conditions-silence is require and no electronics, to get a ticket to watch them come ashore in the evening (the price helps pay for the conservation efforts to protect the penguins). The observation areas, general and “special seating” are situated such that the penguins walk right past as they emerge from the ocean. It was a lot of fun to watch them climb up on the rocks, where they seemed to wait until a large group (20 or more) had gathered before literally sprinting across the four meters of grass or so to get to cover where their nests were. I had a great seat and some of the groups literally walked within a meter of me on their way home. As I was walking back to the campground after the event, I discovered that there were even more penguins out roaming around on the shoreline. A local, no doubt hired by the conservation folks, was directing people around the penguins and making sure no one bothered them. And, the next day, as I was heading to the bakery, sure enough there was another penguin – wondering around lost. I was able to snatch a picture of him before some of the shop keepers were able to wrangle him into a box to return to the water. It was clear to me that the people of Oamaru take extra care to ensure the penguins thrive.
After two leisurely days in Oamaru and indulging in baked goods, I departed for my next destination, Lake Takepo in the Mackenzie district- and the last of the six districts of the South Island I had yet to visit. Lake Takepo is not far from Mt. Cook, the tallest peak on the South Island, so I was headed back into mountain country, but this time approaching from the east. The drive was pleasant and the countryside continued to be dominated by agriculture, both animals and crops. As I approached Lake Takepo, alpine features started emerging- tall forests of fir trees and high meadows. The sky was blue and full of sun, turning the lake a gorgeous brilliant blue color. After I found the campground, again right on the water (!), I took a walk along the shoreline and enjoyed the vivid water colors surrounded by the spring wildflowers in orange, yellow, purple, and red which were in bloom everywhere. The village of Lake Takepo is very small (population 600 or so) but gets a lot of visitors both in summer, because of the beauty of the area, and winter, for skiing. As I walked around, it was the first time I actually felt crowded (with other tourists). There were a lot of people out and about, no doubt the weather was a factor, but I did notice a steady stream of large bus tours stopping to disgorge their passengers for an hour or two. But even with all of the extra people running around it was a relaxing place to just hang out and I spent some time at sunset trying to capture some of the dramatic reflections that danced across the water.
I managed to get a wonderful mirror reflection of sunset on the lake. This was the view from my campsite, by the way…..
The next day I headed up to Mt. Cook National Park– I had signed up for a helicopter tour of the glaciers, hoping to have better luck than when I was on the west coast. Thankfully the weather forecast looked promising so I kept my fingers crossed as I drove. It was a little over an hour drive to get to the airport to meet the helicopter and I had to stay focused as I wound along Lake Pukaki, another beautiful lake with Mt. Cook in the background, reminding myself I could stop and enjoy the views, AFTER the helicopter tour.
I did make one stop on the way to the airport for the heli tour. This is early morning light hitting Mt. Cook towering over Lake Pukaki. How could I not stop to admire that view???
The tour was for nearly an hour and it was amazing. If you are ever on the South Island I encourage you to book one. There were only three of us signed up and I had a front seat which provided me a perfect view. Our itinerary basically had us passing by all of the major glaciers and we landed and walked on the top of the Fox glacier (no clouds!). Unfortunately the Franz-Joseph glacier had clouds, but everywhere else it was brilliantly clear and absolutely stunning. I have seen some indescribable nature on this trip, but the views from the helicopter were by far the most awe-inspiring. The time passed way too quickly!
The Tasman glacier melt finds its winding path to Lake Pukaki, all clearly seen from the helicopter.
Me at the top of Fox Glacier.
When we landed I jumped in my camper van and continued west into the park to drive to a scenic outlook to view the Tasman glacier. I had seen it from the air, now I wanted to experience it from below. Again, there were a lot of people tramping around, but as the scenic lookout required hundreds of steps up a steep slope, it was not too bad on top. Other trails, that lead to the Tasman river and pools, formed by glacier melt, were more level and thus more attractive for some of the crowd. After taking in the view and trying (and failing) to imagine the scale of the glacier, I checked out the river trail, then headed back to the camper van. My goal was to retrace my steps and find a scenic lookout to stop and have lunch and just hang out and enjoy the view. I was fortunate, I found a great spot that was not occupied by anyone and pulled over, made lunch, got out my camp chair and sat for a while, soaking in the beauty.
The top of the Tasman glacier (helicopter shot…)
And the bottom of the Tasman glacier as seen from the look-out spot. There is about a meter of stone on top of the glacier, hence the black color. Also it is hard to appreciate the scale of it all from the picture.
I spent the rest of the afternoon slowly heading back towards Lake Tekapo and the campground, stopping frequently to take photos and enjoy the changing view. The whole time there were cars and camper vans coming and going on the main road. I suspect this was a bit of foreshadowing for how the peak season plays out– and if so, I was happy that I will miss it!
That night was my last night in my cozy camper van on the South Island. I cannot believe the month went by so fast. In that month I had visited all six districts of the South Island, traveling over 3000km. I did not see everything I had planned due to some of the weather issues, but probably covered 80% of my list – I guess I have to come back again to get the other 20%!
The next morning I headed back to Christchurch to turn it in and prepare for my next adventure– exploring the Queenstown area.
The drive from Te Anau to Curio Bay felt much longer than the advertised three hours even accounting for the stops I made along the way. I think one of the reasons was the fact that there was not a direct route and I was winding around on what passes for backroads in New Zealand. The scenery was beautiful though (as it has been everywhere) and I pulled off when I could to get photos. As I headed south and then east, I eventually left the mountains behind and emerged into rolling hills dotted with sheep. The landscape looked like a giant green and white polka dot tablecloth that had been rumpled and left in disarray as far as the eye could see. While sheep were the most prevalent livestock, I also ran across plenty of cows and more of the mysterious deer farms. The density of animals in the countryside was sufficient to add a permanent aroma to the air; I knew I was in the country! Like my experience on the west coast, I saw plenty of rivers draining, south in this case, towards the ocean with the accompanying one lane bridge crossings. I also saw tons of large trees that had been blown over and in many of the fields I passed there were HUGE stacks of tree limbs, a result of the post-storm cleanup. I had heard that the storm I sat through earlier (Murchison, when the roads were all getting closed on the west coast) had hit the east side of the island much harder. Seeing the number and size of the trees that were down, I believe it!
The view back towards the west as I was driving east. The countryside turned decidedly agricultural.
One of the stops I made, as I was working my way to Curio Bay, was at Gemstone Beach. If you are a rock person and you want a place to go to get a wide variety of sizes, colors and types of rocks, then Gemstone Beach is a sure bet. The whole beach is littered with stones, and the lore has it that, if you look closely and spend some time there, it is possible to find actual gemstones. When I arrived, there were several groups crouched down in the sand, looking serious about finding something. I took a walk on the beach and picked out a few stones but did not put any work into testing the rumor about gemstones. (It was super windy, like all the New Zealand beaches I have visited.)
I continued my journey, which was complicated by the fact that my map app, which had plotted my route to Curio Bay, took me via a few small towns and a gravel road. It was a bit sporty with my cell phone signal coming and going and the route markings not great, but I eventually found my way to the Curio Bay campground. The bay is a remote, picturesque bay, and I had selected it for a stop just to have some down time in a peaceful locale. So that is what I did while I was there—nothing!
Curio Bay, or part of it. It was big enough that I could not get the whole bay into one frame.
I arrived early evening, so once I got settled, I called it a day. It rained for half the day the next morning, but when the rain ended, I walked around the bay and simply just hung out and enjoyed the scenery. The water reflected multiple shades of green and some blues that were somehow still different than the blues in the sky and I spent some time fiddling with my camera, trying to capture all the vivid colors. It was a nice relaxing day—no driving, no decisions about what to do, no energy required. (I did do a little work via wi-fi to catch up on some email, but nothing that required a lot of thinking!!!)
The next morning I headed out to Dunedin, where I was staying for three nights. I meandered my way there stopping quite frequently. I really wanted to see the Cathedral Caves but, unfortunately, they were closed (indefinitely-maybe the area also sustained damage from the storm??) so I kept going to my second planned stop – the Tautuku estuary. A short walkway led out to the estuary and I enjoyed the silence for a while before heading back to the campervan and continuing my journey. I also did a short hike to Tahakopa river bay. Evidence of the bad storm was present on the trail as I had to skirt around and under multiple blown over trees. Again, on the beach I was the only one there and it was wonderful to have the whole place to myself. As I emerged from the trail, returning to the parking lot, a British couple were just getting ready to head down the path. We chatted for a bit, I filled them in on the trail, and parted ways. There were several other beautiful beaches and look out points that I visited during my journey to Dunedin- the New Zealand coastline, everywhere, is amazing!
A typical landscape — amazing greens dotted with a yellowing plant (I think it’s gorse) and the blue backdrop of the ocean. Missing from this picture are, of course- the sheep!
The campground in Dunedin was south of the city, near the Otago Peninsula, the focus of my visit. It was a bit jarring driving into the city (population 133,000) and having to deal with traffic and stop lights and so forth. I had been spoiled with all the country driving, no cars in sight most of the time. I easily found the holiday park, set up, then wandered over to the nearby beach, only to discover that people were sunning themselves and quite a few were swimming. I was a bit shocked about the swimming, especially, as the water temperature usually hovers in the 50’s (F). Yikes! With an air temperature only in the mid-60s, I doubt I would be enthusiastic about sunbathing either- and yes, it was windy. Dunedin is a university town, however, and most of the people looked like college students…. I headed back to the campervan to make some dinner and settle in with a book for the evening.
The next morning, I had planned to go to the Otago Peninsula, but glancing across the bay it looked like some low clouds were hanging out, rendering any vistas impenetrable, so I changed my plans and decided to explore Dunedin instead. The weather report guided my choice as it was predicting sun the following day- better for exploring the Peninsula. I sorted out the bus system and hopped on a bus for the short ride into the city center. Dunedin is known for its street art, the city council actively encouraging and supporting artists to adorn the sides of buildings with their creations. After grabbing a steak and cheese pie from a bakery, I went off to find the information center to see if they had a map of where to find the murals that were hidden around the city. They did and the nice gentleman who provided me the map also suggested an efficient walking route. Map in hand I set off on my urban hike to view as much of the art as I could find. It took a couple of hours, but I managed to find about 90% of what was documented on the map. Some of the art was small, elaborate graffiti type murals, while other paintings spanned the surface area of one (or more walls). If you are ever in Dunedin—get a map and check it out!
Dunedin street art. It was all very whimsical.
Another example of Dunedin street art.
As I was finishing the route, I turned a corner and there was a pub right in front of me, so I stopped for a drink and took a break from the walking. Refreshed after that interlude I decided to walk back to the campground instead of taking the bus back. The 50-minute walk was straightforward and I would pass by a grocery store, allowing me to stock up on a few things. By the time I got back to the campervan, I was ready to chill for the rest of the evening.
Thankfully the weather report did not mislead, and the sun was shining when I headed up the Otago Peninsula the next morning. I decided to head out to the furthest point on the Peninsula, which happened to be where an albatross colony was located. Apparently, Otago is one of the few places where it is possible to find albatross nesting on a mainland—they normally nest on remote islands in the south part of the southern hemisphere. (I recall seeing a colony on one of the Falkland Islands during my Antarctic cruise.) New Zealand has a conservation and protection program running for the colony, so they regulate access. As I had seen a large colony before (Falklands), I simply perused the visitor center and walked along the scenic walkway to an overlook. Even though I did not visit the albatross colony, the walkway was surrounded by a very large colony of sea gulls, so there was plenty of bird action happening.
The furthest point of the Otago Peninsula. The small tower is the observation point for the albatross colony.
The road I followed on the Peninsula wound up until the hills then down again to hug the coast. The view at the top was incredible (see featured image at the top) as I could see the whole bay and all the way out to the ocean. The bay is very shallow, which is evident when the tide is out, with a deeper channel hugging the northern shore, also evident when the tide is out. The view was super distracting while I was driving, but I forced myself to pay attention to the narrow, twisting road! Luckily there were places to pull over from time to time, which I did, to focus on getting photos that did some justice to the scenery. The one main road that runs internal to the Peninsula was closed for tree cleanup, so I probably missed some even more spectacular birds-eye views….
After leaving the albatross colony I started my return journey, but with a stop planned at the famous Larnachs castle, which sits high on a hill on the peninsula about halfway back to town. It was built in the 1870s by a banker and politician, and mimics a castle keep with an Australian architectural twist – a full veranda surrounding the main structure. It is unique in New Zealand and unfortunately had fallen to ruin until a couple bought it in the 1960s and started the restoration process. Today most of it is restored, but some work continues. The castle is surrounded by an extensive garden, which can be toured separate from the house. I spent a couple of hours exploring both the gardens and the house, including climbing up to the turret on top of the house to check out the view (of course!). By the time I left the castle it was starting to get cloudy and the wind was picking up so I headed back to the campground and settled into my cozy campervan with some wine and a book for the evening. The next day I was off to Oamaru.
Larnachs castle. Since it was architecturally a combination of a European keep wrapped in a verandah, it didn’t look like a typical castle. the interior room layout was, however, noticeably a square.
View from the turret of the castle. A low cloud was coming into the area at the time, blocking out the sun but the view was still magnificent.
In the extreme southwest part of the South Island lies some beautiful, but remote, natural wonders. It is a landscape of fjords (sounds), mountains, rivers, waterfalls and dramatic scenery. I have long wanted to visit this area of the world. When I was in New Zealand in 1990, our trip to Milford Sound got cancelled due to weather, which is a common happenstance for an area that gets anywhere between 21-33 feet of rain a year over some 200+ days. When I planned this trip I built in a drive to Milford Sound including a cruise on the Sound, and then south to Doubtful Sound and another cruise. I hoped that being “on the spot”, more or less in Milford, would reduce any chance of cancellations (a lot of people get bussed in from Te Anau or Queenstown), although I was prepared to take the weather as it came. Consequently my destination leaving Wanaka was Milford Sound- a nearly six hour drive. My luck dodging road closures held up; the morning I left Wanaka highway 94, which runs between Te Anau and Milford Sound opened up after a three day closure, so I knew I could reach my destination.
One quirky stop on the way out of Wanaka towards Queenstown: a fence of bras, started as a way to raise awareness of breast cancer and apparently still gets additions.
Much has been lauded about the scenery between Te Anau and Milford Sound, but I was equally enchanted by the vistas during the whole drive from the moment I left Wanaka until I pulled into my campground in Milford Sound. It was like opening a box of chocolates- just like you never know what kind of filling you are going to get every time you taste a new chocolate- every time I went around a bend in the road I was faced with some new, incredible horizon. It was distracting as it was necessary to pay attention to the twisty road. Actually the pass from Wanaka into the valley where Queenstown sits was probably the scariest descent I’ve made yet. I felt super exposed as I wound down the mountain, an abrupt drop off to my immediate left. But the contrast of the blue Lake Wakatipu with the green of the agricultural valley, all surrounded by the freshly snow-capped mountains was so stark that it kept trying to draw my eye (even as I wound through 180 degree switchback turns!).
I did not stop much as I was passing through the area as I will be back to spend a couple of weeks in Queenstown later and plan on investigating all of the scenic locales. Because I had a long drive, I was focused on getting over to Milford Sound. Lake Wakatipu is very long and narrow and I had to clear the southern end before I could turn west. The weather was sunny, a nice break from the clouds and rain that seemed to be following me everywhere. Surrounding the lake was a large agricultural valley and I found more of the famous New Zealand sheep (along with several more deer ranches…. haven’t figured that one out yet). I stopped in Te Anau to check it out and grabbed a lamb and mint pie at a bakery (when in New Zealand…).
One of the spectacular views on the way to Milford Sound out of Te Anau.
Another view from a large valley I stopped at on the way.
After a short, but welcome, break I headed up the famous Highway 94 and the final two hours of my long drive to Milford Sound. While there are numerous scenic pull-outs on the drive, they never seem to be where I wanted them so I missed a lot of great pictures. Nonetheless I stopped frequently. There are also a lot of several hour hikes that branch off of the highway, but I restricted myself to some of the short ones. There was a lot of bus traffic on the road as many people book coach tours of Milford Sound (with and without a cruise in the sound) from Queenstown.
Like the rest of the drive, the scenery was varied. Lake Te Anau, another huge, long and narrow lake, was visible for a lot of the drive and when I was finally north enough to leave it behind me, I started encountering a lot of swiftly following creeks. There was also a lot of agriculture (more sheep) and, believe it or not, desert like scrub, all surrounded by white capped mountains. I kept expecting the road to ascend to weave through the mountains down into the sound but that really did not happen until what felt like the last minute — as I approached the tunnel that burrows through the mountains about 30km from Milford Sound. At this point I was definitely in the mountains and saw frequent “do not stop, avalanche area” signs, emphasized by lots of large boulders and snow surrounding me. The tunnel is one way and a line forms behind a red light, while traffic is coming from the other direction. The wait was only about 8 minutes then we entered the tunnel. I was super surprised to see that the tunnel was a continual descent and it felt like it was a steep incline (no doubt because it was dark and the van had a lot of momentum). A further surprise was the immediately right turn at the end (or there was a cliff) and then the road continued to wind down the mountain into the sound. I am pretty sure I did not use any gas for at least 5km and spent a lot of time on the brake!
The tunnel entrance leading to Milford Sound (small hole in the bottom left of the picture). Surrounding by rocky slopes, it’s clear why avalanches are a problem in this area.
Not unsurprisingly it was cloudy once I cleared the tunnel, but the sun emerged from behind the clouds occasionally. Once I got to Milford Sound I easily found the campground (there is not much in Milford Sound, the campground/lodge and the cruise terminals and an airstrip that hosts scenic flights). I checked in but did not stop for the day instead heading closer to the Sound to do some hiking and explore the area; I knew it would be cold and rainy the next day and wanted to take advantage of the good weather.
And unsurprisingly, the rain started later that evening and when I woke up the next morning was still present, predicted to be so for the rest of the day. Consequently I prepared for my Milford Sound cruise by donning all of my warm clothes (fleece!) and rain gear and headed for the cruise terminal. The cruise was an hour and forty-five minutes and during that time we traveled through the whole Sound, only turning around when we reached the opening to the Tasman Sea. The rain came and went but I stayed on the open upper deck the whole time to get the best views. Yep, it was cold and wet (thank goodness for rain gear!) but on a positive note there were tons of waterfalls, many of which are not present when it is not raining. I suspect this is a place you could visit in each season (or many times during each season) and have a completely different experience. The Miflord Sound track, a four day hike through the area, would also be a nice way to explore the landscape– but not in this rain!!!
An example of some of the waterfalls active in Milford Sound. The benefit of cruising during the rainy season- no shortage of waterfalls!
More Milford Sound waterfalls!
After the cruise, I jumped in my camper van, shed my rain gear and headed back down highway 94. I had booked two nights in Manapouri, just south of Te Anau, which is the departure point for Doubtful Sound, another picturesque, but less well-known, opportunity to drink in the splendor of this part of New Zealand. As I traveled south on 94, the rain disappeared, especially as I emerged from the tunnel (which was not a scary in the return direction…). It was a pleasant drive and I easily reached Manapouri and found my campground. Unfortunately the rain caught up to me but according to the weather forecast by the next morning it would all be gone. I was hoping for decent weather for the Doubtful Sound cruise!
When I woke up the sky was sunny despite hearing rain for half the night. I was super excited and looking forward to the cruise. The port was only a short drive from the campground and I got there early, snagging one of the few parking places. Some of the parking was closed due to the elevated lake levels- at their highest point in over 30 years due to the excessive rain. It is no simple thing to get to Doubtful Sound– first you board a boat at Manapouri for a 45 minute ride across Lake Manapouri (5th largest lake in New Zealand) and then embark on a 50 minute bus drive over the pass that leads down into the sound. The port on Doubtful Sound, Deep Cove (population 2!), serves as the jumping off point for the actual Sound cruise. A few commercial fishermen work out of this port, too. The only other regular visitors are school kids from around the South Island who come to stay at a hostel that was established to provide “nature education” for the students –how cool is that!!!
Doubtful Sound viewed from the pass we crossed via bus (after being dropped off from our trip across the lake).
The weather held up as we crossed the pass to descend into the sound and the 2-ish hours plus we spent cruising was amazing. I had long been focused on Milford Sound, as it is a rather well-known destination but having seen both Milford and Doubtful Sound, there is no doubt (!) that if you can only do one, chose Doubtful Sound. My recommendation has nothing to do with the weather; Doubtful Sound is larger and has a more complex geography than Milford. I hung out on the back of the boat and was in constant picture mode trying to capture the beauty and majesty of the vistas. (Cameras can NEVER do that, but I had to try!). Like the Milford Sound cruise, the route went all the way out to where the Sound intersected the Tasman Sea before turning around and tracing a different path back to the port. Since Doubtful Sound has an extensive island network, our route back was largely different than the one we took outbound.
At one point the captain pulled into a shelter cove and turned off the ship, admonished the passengers to be quiet, and invited everyone to simply take in the sounds of the Sound. It was awesome and so peaceful. What was immediately noticeable was the sound of rushing water surrounding us due to all of the waterfalls, followed by bird song. That was it and it was enough. Unfortunately we had to get moving again… I cannot describe the scenery sufficient to do it justice so am adding a bunch of pictures to the post. But think– majestic, dramatic, remote, intense, raw, natural beauty, greens, blues, whites, snow, trees, mountains, water (of all colors) and try to integrate all of that into one comprehensive picture and you come close.
Doubtful Sound looking off the back of the boat.
There was a small sailboat anchored in the Sound. This provides a hint at the scale of the the features!
The next day I departed Manapouri to head back to Te Anau for a tour through the local glowworm caverns before heading southeast for Curio Bay, my next stop. I arrived in Te Anau with an hour or so to kill so I had breakfast at a local cafe then wandered down to the waterfront to check in for the tour. To get to the glowworm caves required a 30 minute boat ride across Lake Te Anau, apparently one of the largest cache basins of fresh water in New Zealand (due to its depth). The cave system that hosted the glowworm cavern had been formed over millions of years as water from snow melts and rain in the surrounding mountains slowly etched their way through the sandstone and limestone strata. While the cave system was kilometers long and very extensive we were only penetrating less than kilometer to see the glowworms.
Me at Milford Sound. Cold and wet but amazing waterfalls (yay- rain gear!)
Me at Doubtful Sound. Sunny and wonderful vistas. Worth a visit!!!!
Walkways had been built over the rushing river (too big to be called a creek or a stream!) that continues to carve the caves today. We were treated to several powerful waterfalls cascading through carved rock channels before getting on small boats for the final leg of the journey into the cavern. The guide pulled the boat along by grasping a large chain that had been embedded into the rock for that purpose. He asked for quiet as we entered the chamber and soon we were in pitch black, the roar of rushing water surrounding us, and a multitude of tiny sparks of light around us, seeming to hang in the dark, but likely defining the walls and sides of the cavern. It was beautiful and intensely dark; I could not make out my hands. The glowworms, which are actually “glow maggots” apparently, use the light to snare insects in the silken nets that hang down below the lights. A benefit is the “night sky” illuminating the cavern. New Zealand, and apparently Australia, have several of these sites around the country and definitely worth a visit.
The tour ended in late afternoon and I immediately headed out for my three hour drive to Curio Bay.
It was still raining when I got up to leave Fox Glacier, but luckily when I checked the road conditions the Haast Pass was open. Yay me! I did not have to spend a lot of time backtracking north to a different pass to get to Wanaka, my final stop for the day. I was pleased to discover that 30 minutes south of. Fox Glacier blue skies magically appeared and the drive instantly became more pleasant. In addition, I was continuing my southern drive through a large valley so the road was also straight although I was anticipating that changing as I approached the pass later in the day.
Bruce Bay looking south.
I took my time on the drive, stopping often to take in the views and snap some pictures (still trying to sort out the differences between what my camera was doing and the camera on my iPhone!). I frequently saw the same people at the various stops; clearly there was a number of us heading across the pass now that it was open. The stops included one at Bruce Bay and random look-out points, all well marked. The whole area around Haast, on the southern part of the west coast, has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the natural beauty and landscapes. As a matter of fact, there are a ton of rivers dumping into the Tasman sea, which translated to a lot of one lane bridges. The bridges are easy to navigate as there was not much traffic going north. (I wonder what happens in the summer…).
As I approached Haast, a small town of, no kidding, 90 people, the road turned east to follow the Haast River up and through the pass. As a matter of fact it is not possible to drive any further south than Haast on the west coast. Further south is a large national park and below that is Milford Sound which you have to approach from the east side of the mountains. As I turned east to head into the mountains and through the pass, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the road remained at river level. So even though there were a bunch of twists and turns, I was not climbing and descending making it easier to pull off frequently and enjoy the spectacular views of the river. Unfortunately driving into the mountains also meant driving into the low clouds that have been perpetually surrounding them, so I was in and out of rain more frequently.
One of the stops along the Haast River. There was a waterfall nearby, too. Was in and out of clouds most of the drive through the mountains.
At some point, which I missed, we crossed the continental divide and I noticed the river was now flowing in the other direction. I was now following the Makarora river, which empties into a series of lakes near Wanaka. I am not sure when the switch happened. As I emerged from the pass on the east side of the mountains, the scenic stops increased. One famous stop is the Blue Pools, so-called because of the color of the water that empties out of the Blue River where it merges with the Makarora. It’s a popular swimming spot in the summer and I was a bit shocked to see some young people taking a dip, despite the rain and 50 degree temperature. (I can only imagine what temperature the water was!). They provided a short entertainment interlude for the rest of us who were at the pools at the time.
The source of the “blue water” that forms the blue pools. I took this from (another!) swinging bridge over the water.
The “blue pools” where the water from the Blue River hits the muddy water of the main river. The pool is very calm which makes it a popular swimming hole (even in October!)
The Makarora River dumps into Lake Wanaka and the city of Wanaka, my destination, sits at the southern most shore of the huge, huge lake, 54 km away from my first encounter with the lake. The views were spectacular and a bit distracting. The road climbed over a divide and I also had great views of Lake Hawea, which runs parallel to Lake Wanaka and is almost as big. I pulled over a lot!
The sun was shining when I got into Wanaka and I found the campground, checked in then drove back to downtown, determined to enjoy the beautiful shoreline and views of the mountains while I could. The forecast for the following day predicted another whole day of rain so it was going to be an inside day. There are a lot of lakefront bars and restaurants and I planted myself at one, enjoying pizza and a beer while basking in the sun and the expansive mountain views. Then back to the campsite to get set up for the night.
Lake Hawaea. The different blues in the water were especially picturesque.
Another view of Lake Hawea as I crossed over the divide between the two lakes.
The next day did indeed bring rain (and cold) the whole day. I had a lazy morning, not in a hurry to get out in the weather. There were two indoor activities that I targeted for the day– a visit to the National Transport and Toy museum and to the Puzzling Place. I did not really know what to expect from either, but my research indicated that both places were worth visiting, so I put them on my list. The National Transport and Toy museum was slightly out of town but I easily found it.
An example of one part of one of the hangers, stuffed to the gills with cars (and trucks and whatever).
If you are a car enthusiast and are ever in Wanaka, NZ, I highly recommend that you visit this museum. The collection was started by a gentleman who really loved cars and it grew to encompass, trucks, airplanes, motorcycles, scooters, construction equipment, fire trucks–almost anything related to transportation, but weirdly enough, not boats (notwithstanding the lake nearby). They have, currently on display, over 600 different models. The cars range from a model T from the early 1900s to some 1980 models. There are a lot of cars and trucks of various from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s. The whole collection covers 5 huge hanger size buildings. In addition to the vehicles, there is a large toy museum and then random collections of stuff. The museum was a weird cross between heavy focus (vehicles and toys) and then “themes” such as: a whole hanger wall of spoons from everywhere, a collection of old sewing machines, typewrites, radios, TVs, and other random stuff. I asked one of the ladies that worked there why the varsity and apparently the founder like to visit flea markets and antique sales, so would create these mini-collections. Regarding the toys: this is the place to find anything related to Star Wars and Legos. There is also a very large doll collection, including Barbies and just about all kinds of other figurines and theme toys. It’s all actually a little overwhelming and I spent a little over two hours wandering around trying to take it all in. it looked like they had even more stuff in some stowage buildings in the back of the property and when I asked, I was told that people donate items to the museum– they are not actively collecting anymore. But still, the curation task must be horrible!
There were display cases like this all over. This one is full of salt and pepper shakers (and ONLY salt and pepper shakers). I lost count of the display cases of Star Wars stuff….
The “Wall of Hot Wheels”. Not the only Hot Wheels display, but it gives you an example. (Matchbox also had its own place). There were hundreds (!) of model cars, toy cars etc..
I was not impressed with the Puzzling Place, although after visiting their main attraction, which had a lot to do with different types of optical illusions spread out through “experience rooms”, I hung out at the cafe, where they have puzzles of various types spread out over the tables to challenge people. Nonetheless, it was a good inside activity. Since it was late afternoon by the time I had completed my visits to both places, and the weather was horrible, I headed back to the campground, plugged in and made some lunch/dinner then curled up with a book in my cozy camper van. The coziness was challenged later that evening, however, when the temperature began to drop further, getting cold enough to start snowing! I added a few layers to compensate and sure enough, there was snow on the ground when I happened to look out of the window around 6am. Disgruntled, I turned over and went back to sleep. Later, when I got up around 9am, most of the snow in the campground and around Wanaka had melted. But the mountains surrounding the city and the lake had a fresh coat and the views were even more magnificent than the pervious ones.
At one of the great views on the trail near Wanaka.
Since it was sunny, I decided to walk up the iron Horse Trail, just outside of town which offered scenic views of the area, including both lakes. The trail was a bit steep, even though it only rose 55om, and I took my time, lingering in places where the views were already worth stopping to appreciate. At the top, the vista was breath-taking and I stayed up there for quite a while watching the sun and clouds choreograph dancing shadows across the face of the different peaks. There was a steady stream of people coming and going– everyone was out enjoying the day! Since tomorrow I leave Wanaka and will be off the grid somewhat, I treated myself to a late lunch/early dinner of New Zealand mussels at one of the lake front restaurants (so I could still enjoy the view) and gelato afterwards. I also made a quick trip to the grocery store to stock up on food for the next three days. Then back to camp to settle in for the day.
Tomorrow is a long drive- at least six hours….
Wanaka is surrounded by mountains (360 degrees) and sits on a lake and near another lake. It cannot get more scenic than that…
An example of the play of sun, clouds and light on the mountains. Ever-changing!
It was no longer raining when I left Hotikika and I took advantage of that fact to stop by the Tree Top Walk, just a few kilometers south of town, to explore what kind of views the elevated walkway boasted. The attraction included a 450m long canopy walkway 15m above the forest floor. They also installed a zipline from the 47m tower at the center of the walkway for those who really want an adventure. Since it was still early in the day, there were only two of us on the walkway, myself and an older woman from Australia. (She decided to do the zipline; I did not.) I was able to see the Franz Josef glacier from the walkway although the surrounding mountains were hidden by clouds. I had finished the circuit and was heading out when suddenly the sun appeared and I decided to rush back to the walkway (the ticket is good for the whole day) to see if the visibility to the mountains had improved. While the view did not change much, I did get a chance to to watch the woman zipline and took some pictures of her (which I later emailed after showing them to her at the cafe).
Franz Josef glacier from the Tree Top walkway. Way off in the distance and surrounded by clouds.
That adventure complete, I jumped in the camper van and headed south towards glacier country. I was staying in Fox Glacier for two nights to explore both the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers. The drive was a pleasant one, winding through a large river valley populated with agriculture and ranching communities. As a matter of fact, the two biggest activities in the west coast region seemed to be tourism and agriculture; there was not a lot of other things going on from what I could tell. The weather remained overcast with intermittent appearances by the sun to lighten up the gloom. My plan was to drive to Okarito, a small township on the water, which was on the way to Fox glacier, and do a hike there that promised amazing views of the coast. Along the way I passed an intrepid bicyclist, bike laden with bags, who was pedaling down the highway. I cannot image how much fun it was to tackle some of the hills and turns on a bike on such a narrow road….
I easily found the car park for the Okarito hike and was pleased to see that it was not crowded – only two other cars were there. Grabbing my raincoat, which also serves as a wind breaker, and my camera, I set out on the trail. It was not a long hike, only 45 minutes to the lookout, but it was steep! (I fondly recalled Nepal again…..). The path was comprised of piled up stones, clearly designed to not degrade or washout in the rain. After multiple, painful switchbacks I finally got to the top and found one other person there- an older gentleman, who was barefoot. He apparently hiked the trail barefoot despite the sharp stones (I asked him). Yikes! The views were spectacular, both of the coast and of the distant mountains. The clouds had cleared up enough to provide a nice shot of Franz Josef, which was a bonus. I sat up there for a while enjoying the view and waiting to see if the sun would emerge and change the lighting, but no such luck. In the meantime, the barefoot walker headed down and a few other people arrived. As it was getting crowded, I headed back down the trail, easily passing barefoot guy who was walking very slowly. (No clue why he did not have shoes….)
Looking north from the Okarita lookout. Beautiful shot of the beach and an extensive lagoon.
I got back on the road and continued south, with my next stop at the Franz Josef glacier viewing trails. Not too far past Okarito, I passed the intrepid bicyclist again, who was still steadily peddling away.. She had overtaken me while I stopped and hiked. There were noticeably more people at the Franz Josef glacier viewing area but it still was not crowded. However, based on the size of the car park it looks like summer crowds can get large. There are several trails that lead to different viewpoints for the glacier and I tried each of them. The main trail, the Franz Josef Valley walk, leads to the river bed (or should I say boulder field that has some water flowing through it) that hosted the glacier a long, long time ago. Today the glacier has retreated up the valley about 4km away. The trail used to get closer to the glacier, but a large section of it was closed to the instability of the terrain. Sighting of the glacier remained elusive as low hanging clouds were clinging to the mountain.
At the end of the Franz Josef Valley walk. There is supposed to be a glacier in the background (or so they tell me). Bonus: because of all of the rain there were LOTS of waterfalls all over the place.
…And there’s the glacier. Emerged from a peek-a-boo game with the clouds.
Another trail climbs to a rocky perch, Sentinal rock, that provides an elevated view. I thought the view from the rock was a bit better than in the valley, but that might be because the clouds had thinned a bit. Looking at the sky I could see that clouds were moving fast and a band of blue sky was emerging in the distance, hopefully heading our way. I still had hopes for a clearer view! The other must-do trail led to “Peter’s pool” which is a small pond that was formed by a large chunk of ice that broke off of the glacier, got stuck, and melted in place, forming the pool. I spent quite a bit of time at Peter’s pool, hoping for lighting changes, because I was trying to get a picture with the reflection of the mountains in the pool (see featured image). I was successful! Also was able to get a close up of the glacier when it emerged from the clouds.
I hopped back into the camper van, still having another 40 minutes to drive before getting to Fox glacier and the campground I had booked for the next two nights. The road was narrow with lots of twists and turns as it wound through the mountains from one valley to the next. Yet one more time I passed the intrepid bicycler, whose legs were pumping furiously as she headed up one of the steeper hills. She had caught up and passed me again, because of my lengthy stop at the Franz Joseph glacier. As it was late afternoon, I was hoping she was going to stop at Fox glacier for the night as well. The whole trip from Hotikika to Fox Glacier was 158km (approximately 98 miles!)- that is a long day on a bicycle!!!
I had booked a helicopter tour of the glaciers which flew out of Franz Josef so in the morning I got up and headed back north from Fox to Franz Josef to check in. The weather report indicated that the morning would be partly sunny with clouds later in the day, so I was hoping that the tour would have a chance to go. But, unfortunately, the clouds remained socked in on the peaks and all the helicopter tours for the day were cancelled. I was chatting with the tour operator staff about the rain and the road closures and they mentioned that while October typically has a lot of rain, this year was extremely unusual in the amount they have been experiencing– much more than normal. The road closures were affecting people’s travel plans. To the south, the Haast Pass, which was one of the three passes connecting the west and east sides of the South Island, was closed due to a slip. The pass I had just managed to get through up near Murchison, had also closed again. That left one pass open. I was a bit worried about the Haast pass because I was headed south next and if I had to detour to the only open pass it was going to add seven hours to my travel time. So there was a lot of talk about roads and weather happening everywhere.
With my morning now free, I decided to explore the village of Franz Josef (which, I estimated, would take about 20 minutes) before heading back to Fox to chase down some glacier views. As I was walking down the main street, I ran into one of the couples I met on the Marlborough wine tasting tour. They were on a coach trip down the west coast and had been stranded in Franz Josef for three days due to the Haast Pass being closed. They were headed to brunch, so I joined them. We had a nice time talking and funnily enough, while we were sitting there, a woman I met at the Murchison campground came in. Small world– or there is simply a bunch of us traveling in parallel counter-clockwise around the country. After brunch I said good-bye (again) to the Australian couple and headed back down to the Fox glacier area to do some hiking. The weather remained changeable– misting, then sunny, then drizzling, then sunny and raining– it was all over the place, but not so horrible I felt I had to hide in my camper van all day.
The vegetation all over the west coast looks like a rainforest, with moss growing on everything. I guess that makes sense given all of the rain…. But it is beautfiully green.
I headed out to Lake Matheson, and the short hike around it. Like Peter’s pool for Franz Josef, Lake Matheson provided opportunities to get nice refections from the Fox glacier. Alas, the clouds did not cooperate and there was a steady, but light drizzle, when I hiked which was enough to abolish any reflective properties from the water. It was a pretty hike, however and since it was raining, I had the trail pretty much to myself. From the Lake, I ventured down the side road to Gillipse Beach, another narrow lane with tight twists and turns. I cannot image driving on some of these roads with camper vans, or full size RVs going in both directions, like must happen in the summer!!
It was really pouring by the time I got to the beach, but I sat in the camper van for 15 minutes and waited; I could see blue sky in the distance. After the clouds blew through I went down to the beach and like the rest of the west coastline, it was rugged and dynamic, with powerful waves crashing constantly onto the shore. I spent quite a bit of time playing with my camera and taking pictures, experimenting with settings and trying to capture the dramatic lightening and sun glint on the waves. Eventually the sand flies drove me off, however. And I had one more stop to make before the day was over.
I spent some time at the beach playing with my camera and iPhone camera. This shot was taken with my iPhone camera.
This shot was taken with my Luminx. I just got it before the trip and am still learning all of the settings/menus/tricks. Was fun playing with it though.
My final stop, before calling it a day, was a viewing area for the Fox Glacier. I was hoping to get some clear views but the brief bit of blue sky I had at the beach was gone and the cloud cover returned, obscuring the glacier. I waited a bit, but the rain started up and with it, wind, so I called it a day and headed back to the campground for the night.
Glacier country is very beautiful and dramatic, even with the cloud coverage impairing the views. This is an area I would like to come back to in the summer, at some point, to get the full effect.
All I was able to see of the Fox glacier. Bummer!
Surprisingly, despite the rain yesterday and the ferocity of the river, when I woke in the morning the water level had gone down a couple of feet and the river, while still moving fast, was not as scary as the day previously. I quickly checked the road conditions and was happy to discover that the road to the west coast was completely open- no detour required! After a few early morning meetings (yes, I am doing some work on this trip) I was on the road heading west. My goal for the day was to reach Hokitka, where I planed to spend two nights. The drive was straightforward, I was pretty much going to be on Highway 6 the whole time.
Yesterday the water level was up to both BBQ grills. It dropped quite a bit overnight.
It was still cloudy and overcast as I headed out of Murchison. The highway followed the Buller river west so I continued to have scenic views of the water driving its way through the gorge. There were many spots where the road was reduced to one lane because of rock spills from the storm or other debris, but the road teams were out working on clearing it all. As I headed west I could sense the coast approaching as the river slowed and widened in its preparation to join the Tasman Sea. At the coast I followed the road south, planning on stopping in Punakaiki to see the famous pancake rocks and blow holes. It was an easy drive and I was excited to see the sun peaking from the clouds once I hit the coast.
Punakaiki is a well-known stop for travelers on the west coast. The best time to see the blow holes is to visit at high-tide and I was fortunate in arriving just slightly after peak high tide. I parked the camper van and headed across the road to the boardwalk which traces its way through the many rock formations and provides spectacular views of the coast. Long before I walked to the first viewing platform I could hear the sonorous booms of the wind-driven tide hitting the rocks; constant “thump, thump” noises echoed back along the path. Driving down the coast I had glimpses of the Tasman Sea and the waves crashing into the shoreline were pretty dynamic!
An example of the pancake rocks. Really cool structures!
Some more pancake structures with the active sea in the background.
The pancake rocks are called such because of the way the water has eroded the rock, resulting in a layered structure that looks like stacks of pancakes. In addition, the rock structure in the area had all kinds of holes and cavities carved out and when the tide arrives, especially with the wind behind it, the water is pushed forcibly into the caverns and up into the cavities, creating blowholes. I spent quite a bit of time wandering from vantage point to vantage point observing the show. The waves were relentless and water was getting tossed around in all directions. The energy involved was incredible and I would not want to be caught in the middle of the wave action. The experience is best shared in pictures.
So many great photos of this area because of the interesting rock formations.
Leaving Punakaiki, I continued my journey south to Hokitika. Having looked ahead at the weather forecast after being forewarned by the gentleman at the Murchison campground, I decided to stop by the Hokitka Gorge before checking in at the beachfront campground I had booked. The weather on Thursday was looking pretty grim and I did not want to miss seeing the gorge. The gorge is only about a 30 minute drive out of Hokitika and surprisingly an easy one, through a flat river valley. (I was expecting to have to drive up along winding, twisty roads into the mountains.). Apparently the gorge is right where the Hokitika river spits out of the mountains into the river valley, so it is easily accessible. Parking, I walked the nicely defined and well-maintained circuit walk that included multiple different scenic look-outs and two swing bridges. As I am not a fan of heights, I traversed the swing bridges with caution (because, well–they swing!). It’s probably just as well I did not get a chance to visit the 171m swing bridge the day before! The gorge was beautiful, with the aquamarine water flowing past relatively calmly, heading to its union with the Tasman Sea. The path also wound through what looked like a rain forest, another testimony to how much rain this part of the country gets.
On one of the swing bridges, I stopped to (carefully) take a selfie with my new camera.
Another view of the Hokitika river flowing through the gorge. Note the water is NOT muddy and brown!
I finally checked in at the campground around 5:30 and settled in for the night. I erased all of my original plans for the next day, anticipating rain and lots of it. Sure enough around 10pm, the rain started along with some fairly strong winds. Thunderstorms hit in the morning, with wind gusts reaching 40mph. I remained in my cozy camper catching up on some work and doing some trip planning. Around 1pm the weather improved enough that I donned my rain gear and made the 20 minute walk into town to explore the jade galleries and the town in general. The wind was still ferocious, especially when I went for a brief walk on the beach, but luckily the rain had ceased for the time being. I spent a couple of hours exploring, made a quick trip to the grocery store and headed back to shelter as the rain was coming in again. So, generally, I had a quiet, productive day in my house on wheels. Tonight I am keeping an eye on the road conditions as I head further south into glacier country tomorrow.
If you are looking for a place to get driftwood, Hokitika beach is a good bet! The wave action here is series. There is even a “Hokitika” sign made out of driftwood right behind the town on the beach. Famous picture spot, but alas, no one was around to take my picture with the sign-probably because the weather was awful!
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