south island

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My exploration of the south island began with picking up my rental car in picton, and heading south along highway 1 again. This portion of the Highway runs directly along the coast and was only re-opened about 2 days before I drove on it. The portion between Picton and Christchurch had been shutdown due to an Earthquake that destroyed huge sections of the road. It was still one lane-directed traffic for portions, and very narrow in spots to drive through.

I made my way about 3/4 of the way to Mt. Cooke driving through big pieces of wine country and up along the coast. I again pulled off to the side of the road, and slept in the back seat for the night. This car was maybe twice the size of the one I had on the North Island, so, it was easier. I got up early the next morning to explore the Mt. Cooke area a little before I was scheduled to hike on the Fox Glacier. There are a few cabins and 1 big hotel in the area. There is also a museum for Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to summit Mt. Everest and who used Mt. Cooke as his training grounds. I took a short hike into the area, that was very cold and foggy. It was difficult to see anything, but the region was holding a lot of snow, even in the middle of summer. I went to the airplane hanger only to realize what I already knew was going to happen, my glacier hike had to be cancelled on account the pilot wouldn't be able to see anything. I hopped back in my car and headed towards Queenstown.

Queenstown is the main ski town in the South Island and is a straight up tourist town. It's very pretty, but also caters to tourists with a litany of trips, day trips, and other activities. I walked into one of the facilities in the town where all the trip companies and such will advertise/book people who were making plans up on the fly. I was able to book a canyoneering trip, and then ate dinner along the lake. I got up the next day for the canyoneering trip to the Routeburn forest. This area has the Routeburn trail, which is one of the most popular in New Zealand. I spent the next 4 hours or so clipping in, hiking over wet rocks, and jumping through/over waterfalls before returning to Queenstown.

When I got back, I decided to wait in the line for Fergburger. This is a semi-fast food place that is renown and extremely popular. I thought about going there the previous night, but the line was about 1 hr long. It wasn't much better on this day either. They serve... you guessed it, burgers and fries. While it was good for faster food, when you wait in line for it for that long, I'm not sure it was really worth it. However, when in Queenstown, do as the Queenstownians do. I finished this day off visiting the gardens that the city has where they honor some of their favorite citizens, including andy harris, who died on Everest during the 1996 storm.

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