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Published: February 17th 2013
Our journey from Fox Glacier to Lake Wanaka was a fairly long one, so the day was broken up with plenty of photo stops (some more exciting than others!) and plenty of sand flies. After leaving lake Matheson, which was a definite high point, we headed further south via Knights Point (where we spotted a dolphin pod out to sea) and then the Blue Pools. At the end of a scenic drive around Lake Hawea we arrived in Wanaka mid afternoon.
We checked into our hostel (Matterhorn Backpackers) and were informed by the owner that we were priviledged to have our own block in the "love shack". This turned out to be the garden shed in the middle of the vegetable patch (I kid you not), with "LOVE HACK" on the wooden door (S had been broken off by the last p*ssed off backpacker) and instead of a lock on the door we had a bolt and a padlock. When we opened the door I half expected to find a spade or maybe a lawn mower in there, instead there was a bed with only just enough room for our backpacks and a sprinkling of beetles and spiders to deal
with. (HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN). Oh and 'luxury', also a sink, but the hot and cold were plumbed backwards (obviously the plumber was red/blue colour blind). Needless to say more of this rant is now available on TripAdvisor.
Anyway back to Wanaka. The lake is beautiful to walk around, but the air temperature is now around 20 degrees, so too cool for us to brave a swim. We took a day to hike up Mount Iron and a day off to catch up on washing and wifi. We found a great coffee place (Patagonia) with free internet where each time we went I (Mark) had two flat-whites (they were that good) but it gave me the shakes all afternoon, which made writing postcards a bit tricky. What we have discovered since we came to Australia and New Zealand is that you rarely get an average coffee, they all tend to be very smooth and tasty, which is to my liking and is great when you are on a budget and need a caffeine fix.
Our next stop after Wanaka was Queenstown. We stopped along the way at a bungee jump, but didn't partake, as Hazel's excuse is
that her back is STILL too sore from jumping off the swing bridge and I'm too chicken! It was still fun to watch other people jumping though and to hear the screams echoing around the canyon. We arrived in Queenstown around midday and were so relieved to check into the YHA and have a clean room once again. Being a bit slow on the uptake, we only realised it was pancake day when we saw three other Brits attempting to fry batter in a very worn hostel frying pan with limited success later that evening. So Hazel decided we should head into town where we found another branch of Patagonia, which did us some banana and chocolate crepes with cookie dough ice cream. Yum!
After extended negotiations (Mark refused to give up most of the food items Hazel suggested, because he likes them too much!), we have given up the following for lent:
Hazel - Baked goods (all cakes, muffins, cookies etc)
Mark - Beer (Hazel is not sure about this one, as we are barely drinking on our current budget. Sadly my excellent 'give up red meat or cheese' suggestions were vetoed on the grounds of pizzas
and steak!)
On our first day in Queenstown, we set off on a day trip to Milford Sound. We had only just left town when we encounted a few hundred sheep running along the windy mountain road we were trying to drive up. As the coach went past they were all scrambling up the rocks to get out of the way and were actually much better climbers than you would expect.
Quick quiz question: What is the difference between a Sound and a Fjord (as Milford Sound is actually a Fjord)? Answer: A Fjord is formed through glacial erosion and sounds are formed through liquid water erosion. (Did I mention I got an A for Geography?)
The tour guide (coach driver) would commentate along the way, but in between speaking didn't turn off his mike, so we had some heavy mouth breathing amplified throughout the coach...maybe this was an attempt to stop everyone falling asleep?! We drove for about 2 hours through farmland before we hit rainforest. The rainforest becomes more mossy and more dense as you climb higher up the mountainside, and more fern trees start appearing too. There were a few view/photo stops along the
way including a chasm and a glacier, where we saw a Kea who was rather tame and tried to steal some sandwiches out of a lady's bag. Apparently they are pretty intelligent birds.
We arrived at Milford after about a 5 hour drive. Milford is a small village with very little there apart from the tourist coaches parked up at the dock. From here we hopped onto a little boat and set off through the sound (Fjord) to the Tasman Sea. The cliffs are vast and steep, so create some spectacular views. As one of the wettest places in the world, Milford has many waterfalls tumbling down its sheer cliffs. Our boat could go right up and under them, soaking us as we stood on the bow. We were also lucky enough to see a pod of dolphins swimming alongside the boat and then a couple of seal colonies sleeping on the rocks. The driving part of the trip was 12 hours in total, but it was definitely worth it for the stunning scenery, so overall another really good day out.
On our second day in Queenstown we hopped on the Skyline gondola to see the views of
the town, and to have a couple of goes on the luge. On the way up the hill we saw another bungee jump off the side. (It turns out that wherever there is a decent cliff drop in Queenstown, someone has put a bungee). After walking around the various viewing platforms, we headed to the start of the luge. This is essentially where you sit in a cart and see how long you can go before holding the brakes, while gravity propels you down the track. Or, if you are Hazel, you hold the brakes most of the way down and eat Mark's dust! The luge was fun, but once our two goes were up (one on the scenic track and the other on the faster track) we headed back down to town for lunch.
One of Hazel's colleagues had mentioned trying a "Ferg Burger" while we were here, so we each tried one with a side of onion rings. I won't go into too much detail on how good these burgers were, but it had a crusty bun, fresh salad, juicy meat, melted cheese and was about the size of my hand, so I needed two to eat
it. My heart is still recovering as I write this a day later, and Hazel nearly failed to finish hers!
Our afternoon activity was wine tasting, after we found a deal on a website called bookme which had 50% off. We decided to try some New Zealand reds, with the assumption that if we stop in Blenheim (on the way back up) it would be predominately white wine.
The tasting was done self-serve, with wine delivered in different measures from machines (like in the Kensington Wine Rooms, for those in the know!). However, they also had a new champagne dispenser, where Hazel and I passed on the Veuve and Bolli for two glasses of NZ fizz, which was very good. I won't bore you with too much detail, but we started out on the pinot noirs and then moved to some full bodied reds. I found a rather nice Brookfields sun-dried Malbec (i.e. Malbec on Steriods) from the Hawke's Bay region (bring on the Steak) and Hazel went via Waiheke Island to a Fromm Syrah from the Wairau Valley. Needless to say that Hazel's taste was twice as expensive per bottle than mine!
The highlight of our
final day in Queenstown was finally seeing some Kiwis at the Bird Sanctuary. With all the adrenaline action going on here, it is surprising the sanctuary gets a look-in at all, but we joined the OAPs and small children for feeding time at the kiwi house. As the Kiwi is nocturnal, they have them in simulated night time in a couple of houses and they are the strangest birds I have ever seen. They have big fluffy bodies, a small head with a long beak always facing down and no tail or wings really. We watched them for a good half an hour foraging in the soil, as they are so charming to see. When it came to feeding time, their food was placed in the enclosure and, despite being all but blind, the Kiwi knew exactly where the food was. Apparently, they have a really good sense of smell which they rely on for finding food. Unfortunatly, no photos were allowed in the Kiwi houses, so you'll just have to imagine how cute they were.
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Adrian
non-member comment
Fantastic photos
Hey guys The photos are really spectacular, thought of a career with National Geographic? Played around with the panoramic setting yet? Must say you've clearly become aclimatised... 20 degrees?? That's barmy!! I don't envy your love shack experience though! Mark -giving up beer for lent, fair play, although I notice it wasn't alcohol as your wine tasting might take a hit... Loving the blogs, great reading!