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Published: September 26th 2007
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After an overnight stop at Jollies Pass, we were off early to complete the trip back to Queenstown. Well actually, we bypassed QT completely and went straight to our favourite Arrowtown campsite for a shower, to wash some clothes and some R & R. Keen to give the Queenstown Winter Festival a second chance we drove to Coronet Peak ski field where the ‘Big Air’ jump event was being held that afternoon....oh no it wasn’t, cancelled due to LACK of snow, only just a little ironic a week after too much had caused complete chaos. With a quick change of plan we headed over to the nearby Kawarau Gorge, famous for another LOTR site, the ‘Pillars of the Kings’ and as where A.J.Hackett set up the first ever bungee jump.
The next morning we woke feeling groggy having cooked ourselves with the fan heater which was on all night in the campervan - bring back the icy windows and tea-light heating I say! After a very slow start to the day and bit of blogging we left and took the previously snow-bound Crown Ranges road over to Wanaka. We made a brief stop for lunch in town and then
decided to pay another visit to the Mt Aspiring Station road west of Wanaka, where we had been turned back by the snow a week or so earlier. There was less snow this time, but it was still 25km’s of slippery rutted gravelly/mud, a and chance for Lexa to enjoy a bit of off-roading. It took a little persuasion from me before she would take the wheel, but in the end I think she enjoyed experience.....most of the time. We eventually hit an impassable river and yet again we failed to get to the start of the apparently great walk that takes you up to some fine views of the Rob Roy Glacier. Maybe we could have made it through in the camper, maybe not... the remains of someone else’s bumper and a number plate made me think it was wise not to risk it!
We spent the night by the side of the river just in case we could get across in the morning when the lack of snow melt might have lowered the level. No such luck and we woke to a grey wet day that promised to add to the river flow and trap us
the other side even if we did make it across in the morning. So we waved goodbye to that part of NZ for good and started off west and northwards towards Christchurch. The first section was over the Lindis Pass, then through a very cloudy Omarama (famed for its clear skies) and an aimless drive around some of the vast Ohau hydro canals that form a network around the countryside near Twizel. Having failed to get really close to a glacier yet, we had another one on our radar as a potential side trip. It was near Mount Cook which was obviously an attraction in itself, but only if the weather was good enough to see more than the first 500 feet of it. So, we turned off the main road and a little way down the 50km dead end that leads to Mt Cook Village, hiding ourselves away in the bushes for the night alongside Lake Pukaki, just south of a place called Peter’s Lookout. The plan was to assess the weather the next morning and either bail out back to the main road and continue toward Christchurch or head in further to see Aoraki (the Maori name for
Mt Cook) and hopefully the Hooker Glacier.
As you can see from the photo’s the weather didn’t look too bad at all the next day, as we took our breakfast in the sunshine with a view of Aoraki in the distance - possibly the one and only time that we used the free folding chairs that just got in the way for the rest of the 11 weeks we spent in the van! As we arrived at Mt Cook Village, having contemplated and dismissed another helicopter flight the weather had started to close in a bit. Still, it looked OK and we were certainly more prepared than most of the tourists in the car park that were wandering off in their trainers and jeans.
This is where Lexa should take over this blog as I think it’s one of those infamous walks that she will never forget!
After I had made us some sandwiches to keep us going during the walk and we had slid our way across the sheet ice in the car park, we started on the track toward the glaciers. It was a bit cool as you would expect in the middle of
the Southern Alps, but with thermals on and walking up hill I hardly noticed the chill, although I did notice the icy bits under foot that I slid my way over. It was a relatively leisurely walk to Hooker glacier lake as everything is nicely laid with decking paths across boggy areas, a few swing bridges over the fast flowing icy blue rivers and a platform around the edge of a huge rock face, so no wet feet just a few hills. The lake at the bottom of the glacier was impressive, covered in what looked like lots of mini ice bergs some of which were half on land as the water level must have suddenly dropped. At this point we stopped for lunch behind a huge rock which went a little way towards protecting us from the wind that was now adding to the freezing conditions.
During lunch there was a patch of blue sky that Geoff quickly captured in a few photos. I wasn’t having a ‘Dora the explorer’ day and more of a frump as it was getting colder by the hour, I still wanted to get closer to the glacier. It kind of goes
without saying that Geoff wanted to continue, although with me less than raring to go we did think about going back. We did continue, but on the less marked path that took us through prickly bushes, into the snow and in the direction of the glacier if not always quite on the right path. We eventually came to a steep shaley/scree slope that we needed to climb, so with two steps up and one slide down we started going up. Dora was totally absent at this point and clinging on to the slope, trying not to look down I have to say I had a ‘I want my Mum moment’. I was scared and it felt like I was about to slide all the way back down, but with a bit, ok.... a lot of encouragement from Geoff and being so close to the top I managed to climb up over the bushy ledge and onto flat ground. Phew.. I was alive and on safe ground. After this excitement we continued on for a short while, but the weather was closing in with strong winds and snow and we needed to turn back if we were going to get down
in daylight, so we took a last look at the glacier and called it a day.
We found a slightly easier route back down the shale as the snow continued falling and after a couple of hours we were back in the van with a hot cup of tea and another adventure to add to my list. Definitely one of those moments on this trip when I have realised I can achieve more than I thought if I really want to, hence it’s one of those days that still stands out in my memory and one I wanted to blog.
That night we drove back down the valley and headed into the same spot we had stayed in the night before, tucked away in the trees and we watched the clouds turn pink over Mt Cook as the sun set.
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