Travels to the South Island

Thursday Jan 7^th – Flight to Queenstown, hire car and drive to Wanaka.

Friday Jan 8^th – We decided to drive up the road to Mt Aspiring. It went along the shores of the lake, and turned to gravel after a while, it followed a river up the valley with great views of snow capped mountains all around. There were several fords that we had to cross as there were waterfalls coming down from the mountains all along the mountain range. When we got to Raspberry Flat we went for a walk along the river to get views of Mt Aspiring. There were several walks to choose from. We went to the suspension bridge and back. There were several people trying to kayak down the rapids. Mt Aspiring is an awe-inspiring sight as sits towering above the valleys with glaciers coming down its slopes. It is a magical sight.

Saturday Jan 9^th - We decided to visit Puzzling World, which has a maze, and lots of puzzles to do, and some really cool optical illusions. There were rooms where you could enter through one door and look like a midget, and exit through another where you look like a giant. There were others where when you stood normally, it looked like you were falling over. It was a pretty cool place. The maze had four corners and some bridges. The aim was to get to all four corners and then get out. I kept my left hand on the wall and was first out. The toilets were another illusion. When you walked in it looked like you were in a Roman washroom. The Roman style toilets were painted on the wall, and the illusion was continued on the floor. If you stood in the correct spot it looked like everything was part of the same vista.

Sunday Jan 10^th - Today we decided to take a drive towards Mt Cook, or Aoraki. As we drove into Wanaka we were diverted around the waterfront area, because there was a triathlon in progress. As we drove north we were stopped for a while at a one lane bridge as the cyclists crossed.

We drove through valleys with rolling, grass covered mountains, and snow capped peaks in the distance. There were also threatening clouds all round. We drove through

Monday Jan 11^th – Bacon and eggs for breakfast and then we headed for the West Coast. The drive went via Lake Hawea and Lake Waneka towards Haast Pass and the coast. There were a few scenic stops along the way. When we got to Haast River, we headed north towards Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers.

The access road to Fox Glacier was closed, but looking up the valley we could see it in the distance. We drove another 23 km to Franz Joseph Glacier. The access road was open so we headed towards the car park.

We had about ¾ of a tank of petrol when we left Franz Joseph, and thought that we would get some more on the way back to Wanaka. I had seen a petrol station at Haast River on our way here, so I thought we would get some there on the way back. When we got there it was about 9:00 pm, and it was closed. I looked at the petrol gauge and thought that we should be able to make it back to Wanaka on a ¼ of a tank. That was about 143 km. As we climbed the Haast Pass, I could see the gauge going down quicker than any other time, and the warning light came on when we were only about half way. We still had about 70 km to go, and we had only just hit the edge of Lake Wanaka. We had to follow the shores of this lake, and then along the shores of Lake Hawea, before circling Mount Iron and coming back in to Wanaka. I was watching the gauge the entire way and watching it creep below the E on the gauge. I was trying to coast when possible and to be as light on the accelerator as possible. I was half expecting the car to stop, but at the same time hoping that we would make it to Wanaka, I hoped one of the petrol stations would still be open because I could not guarantee that we would even make it to our accommodation on the other side of the town. Luckily we made it, and one of the two stations was still open.

Daniel was right! We made it to Wanaka at around 10:30 pm.

Tuesday January 12^th – The weather was nice, and the sky was clear, so I decided to go a walk up Mount Roy.

The local iTAG Wanaka guide describes the walk as being moderate to hard and taking 5 – 6 hours. It descries it as “ A steady climbing track that rewards with panoramic views from the top. Most of Lake Wanaka can be seen, along with an awe-inspiring view of Mt Aspiring and the surrounding mountains and glaciers. The track is closed for lambing between October 1^st and November 10^th inclusive.” It also shows that Roys Peak is 1578 metres above sea level. Speaking of sea level – Lake Wanaka is the fourth largest lake in NZ, and at its deepest about 370 metres. Because Wanaka is about 310 metres above sea level the depths of the lake are below that.

Nobody else wanted to go for a walk, so I got Paula to drive me to the starting point, which was about 5 kms away from the where we were staying. It was around 12:30 pm, so I suggested that Paula come back to the car park at around 5:00 pm.

The walk started next to the Wanaka to Mt Aspiring Road and began to climb through paddocks with sheep grazing all around. The track was a car width wide with stiles to go over the fences. The higher you climbed, the more of Lake Wanaka that came into view. It wasn’t a hard climb, but it was constant. I decided to take some photos every 30 minutes. After an hour I was above some of the planes and helicopters that were flying to see the views of the lake and Mt Aspiring. There were a few times that, as I looked up to see how far there was still to go, I thought about turning around, but I wanted to get to the top and see the view.

After 2 hours of walking, I was getting a bit tired, but also every step I took was one less that I still had to take to get there. The views were amazing as Mt Aspiring came into view. I could also see pretty much all of Lake Wanaka. The trail kept going as it switchbacked upwards. People at the top still looked small, but I was closer to the top than the bottom, so I kept going.

I finally got to the top after about 3 hours of walking. The 360 degree view was fantastic. I finally got a chance to sit down, have a drink, something to eat and time to enjoy the view.

After 15 minutes it was time to head back down. It had taken 3 hours to get to the top, and with the time at the top. I had just over 1½ hrs to get down to the car park. On the way down I chatted with a couple from Cologne, Germany, who were spending 5 weeks travelling around in a campervan. At around 5:00 pm we were still a bit of a way above the car park and I saw what looked like our car drive in and head back to Wanaka. They then offered to drive me back to our accommodation. I was thankful because I didn’t want to walk all the way back. When I did get back I enjoyed some time soaking in the pool and some time in the steam room.

Wednesday January 13^th - Just a day of relaxing around the resort. I went for a walk to stretch out the muscles after yesterday’s hike. I walked around the lake and found a local vineyard. The sign at the lake invited people in for wine tasting, so I walked in through the vines to the tasting room. The views from the tasting room were stunning. It looked out over rolling hills of vines that went down to the lake and across the lake were snow capped mountains. The wines were good. I then walked up the hill through the vineyard to the road, and then along the road back to the resort. We hen spent time in the pool and spa.

It was also our wedding anniversary, so Paula and I went to the restaurant for dinner. We had to be up early the next morning to drive to Queenstown and get the bus to Christchurch, so we made sure that all our bags were pretty much packed.