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Top of Lake Wanaka
View fromthe beach next to our ampsiteA key point that any Brit. will notice differently about the south west of NZ is that there are large distances between towns, with nothing but occasional farms or wilderness in between. It is necessary to clock up high mileages in order to get around. We decided to get as many miles under our belt before dark but didn’t quite make Queenstown so we slept in a rest area at the side of the road at Fairlight. Next morning, we made Queenstown and stopped for a coffee at McDonalds to get access to “free” WIFI for customers. Filled up with diesel ($1.62 per litre, or about £0.80 – wish it was as cheap in the UK) Petrol is about 30%!m(MISSING)ore expensive. A neat idea to stop cross filling of fuels - all pumps have a flap over the top of a diesel pump handle, requiring you to lift it up before getting access to the handle – to reduce the chance of you putting diesel into a petrol car. On again we went to Wanaka, a tourist town in a beautiful setting next to Lake Wanaka. This
Arrowtown
set in the distant foothills, an old gold mining town, now tourist town. is worth a visit if you are in the area. We drove north alongside Lake Hawea and were rewarded with a still lake reflecting the mountains – absolutely beautiful, and over a pass to the north edge of Lake Wanaka (yes a huge lake), and camped on a Department of Conservation (DOC) campsite overnight, next to the lake. DOC campsites are generally low on facilities, but high on location – we were literally 10 yards from the water’s edge, and what a view with mountains in the background. I would recommend staying at DOC campsites much of the time unless you really feel you “need” electric hook-up and hot showers every night. Next day, over the mountain pass to Haast on the coast. The drive is definitely worth it. The pass was only opened in the last 50 years or so – much of NZ infrastructure is still being developed. Many gravel roads still exist for minor roads, something alien to Brits, but all I came across were OK to drive on. From Haas, we drove south to a small fishing village called Jackson’s Bay, which had a sign warning us of penguins on the road for the last 5km
Arrowtown
Original Gold Miners cottages in teh village. into the village. Didn’t see any penguins, just some sand flies which bit me several times –aghh (I react badly to insect bites). I haven’t mentioned the NZ Sand Flies. There are frequent references to them in tourist locations and the unpleasant bite that you get from the female of the species, so beware. They seem to be less of a problem in winter though. After a short walk to a beach there, we returned and headed north, stopping overnight in a rest area. The traffic which is light at the best of times, all but stopped during the night – nowhere for people to come from!
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Gordon Forrest
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South Island
Wot Cheor Dave and Velda, Seeing your photos and comments about the South Island brought back many happy memories for us. Perhaps it would make a good Probus trip! Your blog is interesting and I am pleased you are both enjoying the experience. As they still say in Shields TA RA WELL