Haast Pass to Queenstown

---

Geo: -45.0311, 168.663

We left the dissapointment of Franz Josef behind us to embark on a most spectacular drive south towards Queenstown. It was one of the prettiest drives I can remember, again maximized by picture perfect weather. Blue skies and sunshine. A half hour south of Franz Josef we stopped for a photo at its neighbour the Fox Glacier. From there it wasnt too far on down the west coast to the township of Haast. Not alot here, a few homes, and a few resteraunts/cafes. From here the road beyond leaves the coast and heads into the mountains. Its usually closed daily from 4-6pm on, and often completely in winter. Time, season and weather was on our side and the way was open.

The scenery changed from coast, valleys and streams to a narrow windy mountain road, with forested mountain views, plenty of evidence of rockslides, countless waterfalls and one-way bridges. Iv yet to mention how commonplace one-way bridges are in New Zealand. You either get a 'right of way' or 'give way' sign, have to look ahead and hope to get through before oncoming traffic. The majority of the time its a non-issue as the roads arent exactly densely populated. We made a couple stops along the way, most notably the Thunder Falls which was quite impressive! Eventually we came out of the mountains onto a ridge road winding between two lakes; Wanaka on the left and Hawea to the right. The road offered spectacular views of again, that turquoise blue water, surrounded by mountains.

Eventually, we arrived into the lakeside city of Wanaka around 1pm for lunch. We stopped in for a delicious pizza and beer. Refueling was again painful (cost between $2.10-2.25nz p/ltr). We spent a short time here on the lakeside enjoying the view before heading on towards Queenstown through the Queensrange valley road.Heading through the Queensridge towards Queenstown was another spectacular mountain views with steep cliffs, lakes below and Queenstown in the distance. After a while we descended a steep windy decline into the valley below.

Not far from Queenstown we made a detour to check out the pretty Arrowtown, a historic gold mining town. We stopped for a stroll up and down the 'main' one way Arrow Street, with nice little shops and cafes. We enjoyed a memorable and delicious chocolate brownie from the bakery here. It was only a short drive into Queenstown from here, and with time ticking onto 3.30 we went straight to the Kiwi Birdlife Park. This was a nice little zoo with not only Kiwis but several other native New Zealand birds including the Koa mountain parrot. Whilst still small (we got through here in an hour), this was a vastly superior kiwi experience to yesterdays rip off at Franz Josef. Specifically memorable was watching the kiwis peck at me through the glass with squinty eyes, chase each other about and enjoy a feeding session.

From here, we walked over the road and boarded the Queenstown cable car (included with our Kiwi Park ticket).What a view from the top. Wow! Queenstown has to among the most picturesque cities Ive visited, nestled in a valley on a giant turquoise lake surrounded by whitecap mountains. Amazing! After a while enjoying the views, sunshine and fresh air we thought wed go enquire about dinner at the resteraunt here before heading down. We were interupted by the shouting of some Mouri actors inviting guests to the Mouri culture show about to start. 'So youre here for the show??' Ah, sure? 'Can I see your ticket?' Sure, heres our cable car ticket? Whilst this wasnt for this extra show, there were only four others there for it, so they invited us in anyway. But first, we need a male volunteer, and since theres only two males here, and the other is a timid asian guy.. looks like Im it..Basically I was elected to be chief of our group and receive a peace offering after an intimidating Mouri dance. The show was great and lasted about half hour. It consisted of a variety of cultural dances and songs and got everyone involved; the ladies (Nat included) on stage to dance with these traditional balls-on-ropes. After that, both us guys were invited up on stage to learn and perform the 'Haka'. It was fun giving it a shot, but my technique probably needs work.

We headed down on the gondola and off to our hotel Mantra Marina by around 7, located about 10 minutes out of town. We changed and headed into the city centre for dinner, starving. We found a place by the water called Pub on Wharf with $20nz meals. I can say that my meal was amazing, possibly the best PorkBelly I have ever had. Just amazing. A couple hours and Macs beers later we were ready to call it a night. We have an early start tomorrow as we head over on a long drive to Milford Sound.

---