New Zealand - South Island - Part 2

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Thurs 10^th- Well, that night we had a thunder storm soooo loud Josh thought it was an earthquake at which point we wondered if a camper van might be a tad too conductive to electricity. Mmmm. Anyway, by the morning the skies brightened and, whilst Julian decided to stay smelly, Josh & I got round a shower with a quick, very refreshing dip in the lake, joined only by a few not too impressed ducks.

After breakfast and our little mug of sunshine as Josh called it, we set off for Mount Cook. The drive was beautiful with 55kms being alongside the equally stunning opaque-blue Lake Pukaki. The view of Mount Cook from the Lookout information centre on the way was beyond description, but Josh will remember it as the place where we lost one of his well loved Havanas😞

What we hadn’t quite got our head around at this point was the distances we were covering and making sure we had a very full tank at any opportunity. We are so used to fuel stations at every turn, but hadn’t passed a fuel station all day and as our tank got lower and lower, began to realise how remote Mount Cook Village was. So, we were VERY relieved to find this tiny mountain village had a couple of pumps, but it was a bit of a tense moment when the un-manned set up there wouldn’t work. After a quick phone call, help was soon on its way giving a well deserved reason for a brew up and made packed lunch while we waited. Soon the pump was sorted and we had a comfortable full tank again.

We had intended to stay on around Mount Cook for a long walk, but as sods law would have it, it was now grey, drizzly and not due to improve. So, following advice from the information centre and after choosing a very snazzy combo of macs and transparent poncho, headed off to the start of the Hooker Valley Track being low down and out of the main clouds. It was just a short walk to the first viewpoint, a very idyllic swingbridge over the glacial Lake Mueller. The normal not so attractive latte-brown water was in FULL force and we would have gone further, but the track was completely flooded. We then drove on to the Tasman Glacier View Track where Josh and I climbed the short but steep track to the top of the Tasman Glacier’s moraine ridge. From here we could look down on the lake and just see the end of the glacier and iceburgs through the cloud. The information board was really interesting showing how the iceburg had retreated over the years, quite noticeably much faster in just the last century. Oh, and iceburgs apparently ‘calve’.

By now, the Mount Cook area was black and grim, so we made an executive decision to head on to Queenstown, figuring we could be there by evening. As we drove away from the mountains, the day brightened and we could have been in a different country. Back along Lake Pukaki, through Twizel (I love the names) and a detour to the Clay Cliffs of Omarama, a Cathedral Canyon of weirdly eroded orange, grey and yellow spires. Again, well out of the way with a $5 per car honesty box.

I also found out I have my own 'Pass' in New Zealand and not a bad pass it was too!

We finally arrived in Queenstown, carefully selecting a site with showers to keep everyone happy and found ourselves with a ringside pitch looking straight out over Lake Wakatipu and Queenstown. We even treated ourselves to dinner in the local pub then back to camper for a bottle of wine and few episodes of Downton Abbey. Doesn’t get much better than that!

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Photos

Stunning Lake Pukaki
Views across to Mount Cook

Rainbow
and LOTS of water

Comments

[Mary Hawkins]

I love the image of you doing all that NZ stuff and then stoking up with a bit of Blighty through Downton Abbey! (Oh, and also the Puky Twizzle names....) The colour of the lake is amazing, reminds me of the china clay pits on the way to Lee Moor but much bigger.

[Matilda]

Hi Mary. Ha, ha, watching Downton from a camper van on the edge of a lake in New Zealand was a bit bizarre. Glad you've enjoyed the blogs. Just about to try and complete them as have a bit of time spare. xxx