The Glacier Country

Queenstown was also the setting for some of the “Lord of the Rings” films. We drove along a scenic road carved on the edge of the mountains and along the Lake ( second biggest in NZ and hundreds of meters deep) to Glenorchy. All along the way were signposts saying that this was the setting for a scene from the movie....no wonder. The mountains had a majestic Otherworld quality, suggesting lost kingdoms in the far distance, and the trees were bent and gnarled and dripping with moss and ferns...all very mystical! Queenstown has a friendly and young atmosphere with backpackers gathering in sidewalk cafe’s and all discussing which amazing adventure ride they were going to do next!

From Queenstown we drove over a steep mountain pass to Wanaka, another lovely town on a turquoise glacial lake surrounded by snow capped peaks...and NO, we were not getting Ho Hum about the scenery...I could not get enough! As we took our last look back at Queenstown we saw the panoramic view of the mountain backdrop that they used for the opening scenes of so many movies.

We stayed at a small campsite on the edge of a rushing glacier river and forest that night only a few kms from Wanaka...run by the council, the payment was by Honesty Box. The town has a lot of fun things to do and includes a very unusual “puzzle world” with rooms full of puzzles , optical illusions and double decker maze..spot the optical illusion with Paul!! Once we had explored the pretty town we left in thick mist to cross the famous Haas Pass which wound its way to the West Coast through treacherous hairpin bends and steep gradients. On the way we stopped at numerous waterfalls along the way, the dripping ferns and beech trees made all the more otherworldly with tendrils of mist wrapping around them. Everywhere there were waterfalls gushing over rocks and down ditches, fast flowing rivers, and thick rainforest vegetation. The Blue Pools were carved out of a river bed with the bluest water and from the swing bridge we could see fat rainbow and brown trout swimming below. We drove along the West coastline of NZ which reminded us very much of the coast of Oregon...steep cliffs with jagged pieces of land jutting from the surf. There were numerous lookouts of the spectacular coastal scenery.

Once again we stayed at a Dept of Conservation Camp on the edge of a pretty lake surrounded by mossy ferny rainforest...very scenic and pretty and only marred by a cloud of sandflies which inflicted very itchy bites!

Our first view of the Fox Glacier was breathtaking. These are the most accessible glaciers in the world and the only ones that come down to rainforest. From the car park you walk along the long rock strewn flat valley floor toward the icy mountain river gushing out of the glacier. The moraine is so interesting when you think of the awesome force of nature and the steep almost 90 degree angle of the valley sides are evidence of the glaciers retreat in the not so distant past. The walk is about an hour, and all the way the path is carefully laid out between barriers because rock falls, ice falls and avalanches are daily occurrences ...in fact a young tourist died not so long ago because he ignored the signs and walked up to the glacier face where a huge chunk of ice fell on him. The following day we drove to the Franz Joseph Glacier and did a similar walk along the boulder strewn valley floor for an hour and half with these towering cliffs dwarfing us at the bottom. The word awesome does not do it justice. Of course Paul, being Paul, could not resist climbing over the barrier for a better photo.....

The drive further along the West Coast beaches saw some wild surf and lots of rain and mist...that region gets 5 meters of rain annually!!!! No wonder the vegetation is so lush. We drove over the mountains to see Arthurs Pass , another steep pass with precipices on each side of the road and some amazing engineering as can be seen by the photos. We camped again in a Doc campsite with an Honesty box..the site was along side a bubbling river surrounded by forest...and we were the only ones there!!

As we emerged from the dripping, lush and misty West Coast via the Lewis pass back to the East coast we had to blink and get accustomed to the bright sunshine again...something we had not seen since crossing to the other side of the Island! It was not as lush, and the mountains not as high or snow covered, but very pretty and rural. The first stop was a Hanmer Thermal Springs...a resort where they had made a wonderful set of baths from the natural Thermal springs of the area. There were rocky pools of all temperatures, spa pools with therapeutic jets, waterslides for the kiddies, lounging chairs in the pools to just lie back and relax in the wonderful hot water while the chilly air around us made clouds of steam...bliss. Talking of Thermal springs, we had been doing some reading about the various fault lines crisscrossing NZ and how they, like the San Andreas fault, were anticipating the BIG one. We actually drove over the main fault line a couple of times.

From here we head up the West coastal and along the top of South Island. The weather is lovely sunny days of 13 deg, but the nights are minus 2 and lots of frost.

Fjordland..

After we left Invercargill we drove northwards along the Eastern side of lower South Island known as Fjordland..with good reason. Ancient glaciers have left huge fjords and rugged mountains in their wake, and much of the area isn’t even accessible. As we left the grey clouds of the south behind we were surrounded by mountains which got higher as we drove along. Because of the recent cold snap the mountains were topped with snow, and the scenery became more and more majestic. That night we stopped on the edge of a huge glacial lake at Te Anau, which is ringed with mountains and forests. It is the gateway to the majestic Fjordland National Park and a very pretty village.

Next day we did the awesome drive to the famous Millford Sound. En route we stopped and did a strenuous hike up a steep ascent to Key Summit for 3 hours. It was also the beginning of the famous Routeburn Track which takes several days to do. There were amazing views all the way up to top, but as we go to the very top, thick cloud covered the mountains and we could not see anything else. We drove through the mist and drizzle along the steep and winding road to the very heart of the mountains, at times with steep, sheer cliffs soaring above us covered with snow. The twisty road with hairpin bends was scary with lots of ice on the side of the road. Also there is a tunnel and Paul had to drive the Campervan through with a huge tour bus coming the other way...we each had inches to spare in the dark.That night we slept at Milford Sound camp, and in the morning the mist and rain had cleared!! We did the famous Boat cruise up the Sound with near perfect weather, and saw the amazing glacial mountains with their distinctive sheer rock formations, wonderful glaciers, dolphins etc. Rarely do things you dream about not only meet your expectations, but EXCEED them!!! This was one of them. Doing the Milford Sound was one of the top things in our “bucket list” and it is a MUST DO!!

That night we drove back still gobsmacked. We decided to stop and camp at the edge of a stunning lake surrounded by snow capped peaks and forest. It was a Parks Board Camp site with an honesty box costing $10.00 per night..it was so lovely.Because it was still early Paul tried to make a fire with soggy wood, and I sat and painted a picture with the lake, forests and relflections...what a treat.

We are now in Queentown..the adventure capital of the world....It is also incredibly beautiful built along the huge glacial lake and surrounded by the snow topped peaks called the Remarkable Range.

Something Paul has ALWAYS wanted to do was Hang-glide, so he talked me into joining him on a flight.We drove high up Coronet Peak (see picture) which is also a ski field area, and both did an amazing flight down. I was so scared at first, but once we were airborne it was so peaceful and lovely that I relaxed. The scariest part is running down the edge of a steep cliff and then launching yourself upwards. Paul was thrilled to bits, especially when the pilot did a few “stalls” and sharp swings up and down for good measure. After that we took a Gondola Ride up the main mountain in the city and did a Luge trip around the top. What a day. Tomorrow we will do some scenic drives because all these exciting activities like Bungy , Jet boat etc etc costs the earth!

It has been a fantastic trip so far and we are so Blessed to see this lovely country and its awesome scenery.

New Zealand

We decided to go to New Zealand because it was always a dream of ours to visit this beautiful country and we got some amazing deals with air and campervan hire. The time was also right because there was nothing more we could do while our home was being built and we had no garden etc to have to look after. We were so excited to be going on another adventure and had lots of advice about itinerary and clothing from our good friends Pat and Des!

Finally, after I resigned from my job of 18 years and signed the last papers on the house we were ready to go.

As we arrived in NZ we flew over Mt Cook in bright sunlight and were able to get a birds eye view of the Frans Joseph , Fox and other Glaciers...how lucky to see them from the air! We arrived in Christchurch and collected our campervan in the late afternoon. The day after we did some shopping and sorted out things we would need for the 60 days on the road. We found the traffic unbelievably busy because the city centre had been closed off and many of the businesses and people had to move to the suburbs..it was like 5 o’clock traffic all day. The folk of Christchurch were looking stressed and edgy..with good reason . They were still in shock from the recent biggest earthquake in the city which destroyed much of the centre of Christchurch and killed many. Many of the buildings were damaged even in the suburbs, even our camp site.

We left Christchurch and drove south in the drizzle and mist to the Akaroa peninsula..we could hardly see the mountainous cliffs of this amazing place. However the next morning the sun came out and we drove into the quaint French style village to see the museum. We were enchanted with the views as well as the pretty French style architecture. What a surprise when we found that the first Frenchman landed there BEFORE the British and had hoped to establish a settlement..and his name was Francois Langlois! He also had his family with him and the museum is in the little cottage that Louis Langlois lived in...we were able to peruse the documents telling about these early settlers. The drive back was wonderful because we could see the views that were hidden the day before.

We then drove to a little town called Fairlie which was so pretty with all the winter colours on the trees. From there to Lake Tekapo which is a glacial lake that glows a luminous green because of the “rock flour” of ground pebbles coming down from the glaciers. Normally the snow capped mountains frame the lake to add to its beauty, but it was misty and drizzly that day so we could not see them..but what a lovely spot.

We then drove to Mt Cook where we stayed at the Forestry dept campsite right at the base of the mountains two nights. Because we arrived in thick mist we had no idea where the mountains were, so imagine our surprise when we woke up in the morning to see that we were surrounded by snow capped towering mountains..what a sight!! That day we hiked 3 hours to the glacier along a rushing mountain river and crossed 3 suspension bridges over rapids .The final lake had icebergs floating on it and the glacier right in front of us. The sun shone the whole day and it was the highlight so far of the trip! We even saw two avalanches ( in the photos ) which was so interesting. There was an excellent museum there with an Edmund Hillary exhibition and statue because he lived nearby and trained on Mt Cook for his accent of Everest.

We left the next day in sunshine and drove to a place near Dunedin for the night. We awoke to find that a huge gale was battering the coast and our drive to Dunedin was in 110 km winds that blew trees and roofs onto the road. We were diverted along a mountain Rd and had to travel with the van swaying dangerously along the narrow rd being passed by busses and trucks! We saw the wonderful Otago peninsular with its awesome views, all the time climbing those narrow precarious roads in the howling gales. At the end of the peninsular is the world Heritage Albatross preservation centre which is perched high on a headland with commanding views of the dramatic coast and estuary.

Next day we did the touristy things in Dunedin because it was pouring with rain. It has an excellent museum and art gallery...and the Cadbury Chocolate factory!

From Dunedin we drove round the bottom end of South Island in an area called the Catlins. It is forested, steep hills, rural and awesome coast. Along the coast there are penguin colonies and sea lions, steep walks to light houses and wonderful views. For two glorious days we had sunlight and were able to enjoy the waterfalls and fern forests. However the afternoon of the second day a huge cold front blew in covering most of the Island. That night in Invercargill our van rocked and swayed in the wind and it was FA-REEZING, with ice and snow on the slopes. We were cosy with our thermals and van, but even so it looked bleak. The fact that we had to take our van in because of drive shaft bearing trouble did not help the grey day. There was an interesting museum here with the actual motor bike of Burt Munroe of the “Worlds Fastest Indian” fame...he was a local here and used to practice on the beach.

While we wait for the part to come we will tour the coast line around here, with winds coming directly from Antarctica , and then onto the Millford Sound area.