Christchurch 30th April
After a very smooth flight from Sydney, which took a surprisingly short 2.5 hours, we arrived in Christchurch. We immediately picked up the van, which was absolute luxury compared to our Australian version. For a start, you can stand up to full height inside, which will hopefully save weeks of near unconsciousness. It has a fridge (no steaks floating in smelly water at the bottom of an ice box), 2 gas hobs inside and a sink with running water and a proper duvet – yippee! I optimistically ordered outside chairs and tables as well, however, I think we are going to be very glad that we can do much more inside. It's funny what excites you when you have been used to living very basically for a while – probably quite good for everyone to do it now and again to appreciate the simpler things in life! The first night we met up with Stevie who was staying in a hostel in the centre of town, not before having a late pub lunch of roast lamb – mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Christchurch is very small and there is not a huge amount to do, so having agreed to meet up with Steve and the other boys (who fly in on the 8th) to do some wine tasting on the 9th May, Mark and I decided to head south.
Arthurs Pass: Trans-Alpine route – May 1st
My sister recommended quite a few places in NZ including this drive – it is the same route that the Trans-Alpine train takes from Greymouth to Christchurch and it does not disappoint. For our first taste of NZ scenery, it definitely had the wow factor. Every corner you turn is accompanied by a 'wow, get the camera.' Rolling valleys and dramatic mountains, red and gold autumnal leaves, sprinklings of snow on certain peaks, rushing crystal clear rivers and everything being a luscious green. We stopped en route for a walk around some fantastically shaped rocks which reminded me of a giants' cemetery. In addition, we had many stops for quick walks, view admiring and of course, one of Aunty's homemade venison pies. Greymouth is set on the sea with a backdrop of the dramatic snow capped Southern Alps. We visited Speights ale bar and sampled some of their offerings, before returning to the van to camp by the beach in a quiet spot off the road. Friday night was probably not the best to camp, as we were interrupted by some teenagers 'pretending to be the NZ police' – quite convincing aside from the banging tunes coming out of the revved up car and the giggles in the background. Very comical. I thought I was very safe the next morning using the outdoor loo on the deserted beach in front of the van, until a helicopter appeared out of nowhere only 20m above me, with a waving a smiling pilot…what else could I do other than to wave back and give my best grin?
Franz Josef Glacier 2nd – 3rd May
You would imagine that you would get blasé about the consistently stunning scenery, however it is impossible, and as ever, the drive from Greymouth to Franz Josef was beautiful, having the sea on our right, and the mountains on our left. Franz Josef is a small wee alpine resort totally geered into visitors, with some cosy bars and the all important hot springs. We arrived mid afternoon, and decided to get some fresh air, so hiked up a hill and along to one of the rivers, which flows down from the glacier. It was a beautiful 3 hour walk and we even managed to pick up a lost cat on the way back who was extremely friendly, following us all the way down. I am not normally fussed about cats, but this one was really very sweet, enjoying being carried down some of the hill and constantly purring. I did feel a bit guilty though once we had lured it down to the bottom as a huge great Rottweiler came bounding out of nowhere – oops. The cat suddenly wasn't so tired anymore.
In the evening we visited the hot springs, which are beautiful at night – all open air and flood lit, there are 3 pools from 36 – 40 degrees. Compared to the cold air outside of the pool, it is fantastic to lie there steaming yourself and looking at the stars. We camped up near the glacier and seeing it by night was beautiful as the moon lights it up making it look like a big snowy river. We had to turn up the gas stove that night though as it was pretty chilly!
Bright and early we walked to the bottom of the glacier. There is a huge river bed in front of the glacier where the retreat has taken place over past years. You have to walk over this, and then you get to the base of the glacier. It is fantastic being able to get so close and see the river underneath, almost in a natural bridge. It retreats or extends by up to 1m a year, and it is very interesting/scary to see how much it has retreated since, say the 1920s, when the river bed was actually a lake. You can climb the glacier with ice shoes, something Mark and I would love to have done, however we were not keen on route marching up in a group of 20 (x perhaps 15 groups). Therefore we both decided it was a beast to be conquered when we have more money and can hire a private guide!
We also drove past the Fox glacier, which is also possible to climb. Onwards towards Queenstown, which was a relatively long drive (although nothing seems long after Australia). We stopped at Bruce Bay and Lake Wanaka, which were just gorgeous. We also had a brief pit stop at a new winery in Central Otago to get a bottle of red to go with our lamb chops that night. We met a very friendly NZ lady who had just come over from living in Guernsey to 'live her dream' in setting up her own winery. She loved the fact we were driving around in a van!
Queenstown 3rd – 4th May
We got to Queenstown just as it was getting dark and found somewhere to camp, along the lake esplanade. The town is really cute – beautiful setting by a lake and surrounded by the Remarkables mountain range, it surpassed my expectations as purely being a party town for the ski bums. It does seem to have great amenities, international cuisine and a whole host of adrenaline seeking activities available – not for the faint hearted. We visited a small wine bar/cellar door which drew us inside purely by the big open fireplaces and sheepskin rug clan armchairs and had a winter warmer before exploring the rest of the town.
Rudely awakened the next morning by a traffic warden banging on our door, we thought if we pretended to not be in the van and hide further under the duvet, he would just go away. Unfortunately this was not the case & he was peskily persistent. Apparently our lake side abode was simply not acceptable & we had to move/not camp within 10km inside the town again – he was friendly enough I suppose and at least we did not get fined. So we moved about 20m down the road and had breakfast over looking the lake, which was lovely. Then onwards and upwards – we took the cable car up to the top of the hill and had a crack at the Luge, which is great fun by the way. Their marketing is very much around the consensus that once is 'never enough.' They were right – I believe that being equally competitive meant Mark and I had to have another go at the hilarious carting track from the top of the chair lift down to the bottom.
Quick hot chocolate, then off for a walk. We followed the track towards Ben Lomond saddle, which went through some gorgeous pine forests then into the open fields, with great views of the lake. We walked up for about an hour and a half before we got to the saddle, and then decided that we wanted to climb to the top, so we kept going. The weather was warm and windless, so the 360 degree views were absolutely spectacular. We struggled a bit towards the top as it was about 3pm and we had not eaten since the naughty traffic warden woke us up about 8am, so we were both absolutely starving. It was 100% worth the climb though as it felt like we were on top of NZ at the top (we weren't actually – that'll be Mt. Cook next week). After wolfing down a very late lunch (about 5pm) we went off in search of a shower, which we found in the form of a great jaccuzzi and sauna overlooking the lake for only 5$ - this made us very happy indeed! In the evening we drove about 170km to Te Anau in preparation for our trip to Milford Sounds in the morning. JG
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