Franz Josef to Wanaka

It was another lovely morning as we left Franz and once again the helicopters were out. We headed on to Fox Glacier and enjoyed some walking around there before continuing south. 

The Salmon Farm cafe provided one of the few lunch stops along the way and would have been great for those who like salmon ... but I don't! We found a couple of other options for eating and watched the salmon jumping in the pools a bit before heading towards Haast. Our motel was actually a bit out of Haast on the Jackson Bay Road ... quite remote. At night I don't  think I've ever been in a darker place ... no lights from cars, houses or anything!!

Before dinner we drove down to Jackson Bay which is a very small fishing settlement. There is a very long wharf which we walked on, and like many young men like to do, Tarun scared me by stepping out and balancing on bits he shouldn't have. It was a long drop to a very cold sea. There was a little crayfish cafe there which was closed but I loved the signs telling us to not get too close to the Penguins. 

We drove back to the motel and cooked dinner then went walking around the estuary. It was very very still and there were some perfect reflections that were very beautiful.

The next morning was wet!!! I had looked forward to travelling through the Haast Pass on a nice day but it wasn't to be. Although it would have been absolutely beautiful on a nice day, the mistiness of the mountains was still quite lovely in a different way. 

 

It's been over 50 years since I was in Wanaka. I knew it had grown since then but I wasn't quite prepared for just how much. Trying to find a park was worse than it is in Auckland .... even the supermarket carpark was full. 

We'd only just arrived and were driving along the lake front (in the rain) when Tarun spied the group of young people he'd met up with in Motueka and Hokitika. They were going wall climbing so he went off with them while I checked into the timeshare we are staying in for the week.

When he returned he said he wanted a snack before dinner!!  The snack included 2 boiled eggs, 3 slices of bread, half a chicken and a whole container of coleslaw. A snack!!!

Saturday morning Tarun went on a long walk with his friends and I drove into Queenstown to pick up Ainsley from the airport as she was having a week with us and a break from kids. The drive over the Crown range was unbelievably beautiful with quite a bit of low cloud lying around.

Ainsley was very happy to arrive in Queenstown to beautiful day. There was no hurry to get back to Wanaka so we drove back via the Cromwell Road and the wineries. First stop was Gibbston Valley winery for lunch and a bottle of Pinot Noir. 

There were a few more stops for wine tastings and to pick up some of the last of the stone fruit.

By the time we returned to Wanaka the afternoon was very warm and Ainsley braved a swim in the lake ... It was just a short swim!!

Franz Josef

The weather did clear in the morning and we were greeted by a beautiful blue sky and a peep of last winters snow on the top of the mountains. It wasn't long before the helicopters started though and all day we heard the constant noise of them. There are lots of tourists paying big money to get up there on the ice.

We stuck to feet ... They were free.

I remember coming to this area 50 years ago. The glacier has definitely receded since then and you can no longer walk up to the face of it and touch it as we did back then.

 

We drove back to the village for lunch. I have to laugh at Tarun as even if there is only one car on the road he still says 'careful' as I cross. It's an automatic reaction from him but you aren't in Delhi now Mr Sharma.

I went for a walk to look around the town and visit the old church while Tarun went off horse riding.

I think the horse riding may have been a bit tame for Tarun 😊 He said the horse didn't listen to him!

The day was perfect for seeing the reflections on Lake Matheson so off we went. The reflections were beautiful and perfect but the mountains were a little cloudy so we didn't get to see Mount Cook.

Our stomachs were talking by this time so we found a very eclectic restaurant serving a mixture of Indian and SE Asian food. Tarun ordered Indian and I ordered Thai .... Then we shared. It was here that Tarun finally found real Indian chai ... See the look on his face!

Hokitika to Franz Josef

Hokitika Beach is wild!! It was a lovely walk along the beach before dinner in Hokitikas only Indian restaurant . Tarun amused himself by throwing stones and climbing on the big bits of driftwood on the beach.

We were at Sunset Point just in time to watch the sun go down.

A bit further along the beach Tarun met up with a group of young travellers that he'd met a few days ago in Motueka . They'd collected a young kiwi boy with a skate board along the way as well and Tarun  tried his hand at skateboarding on one of the wide deserted roads of the town. I think you need a bit more practice  yet Tarun !! He went off with this young group for the evening, coming back a couple of hours later saying he'd had loads of fun. It's interesting how these young travellers keep meeting up along the way.

We woke the next morning to another sunny day. The weather sure has been kind to us, especially as were in the part of NZ that is renowned to be the wettest.

On the way out we took a detour to the Treetop Walk just out of Hokitika. This is a 450 metre walk on a walkway 20 metres high plus a tower that is 40 metre high. I guess this is the view the birds see, looking down on the tree tops. It was quiet and peaceful and very ... Green!! A worthwhile stop but dry very overpriced.

Lunch was beside a very beautiful lake. I watched a guy with a fishing rod venture out in to a small jetty that was maybe jutting out iinto the lake about three metres and thought he wouldn't have a hope of catching anything. But I was very  wrong as less than 5 minutes later he had hooked a very good sized trout.

Heading towards Franz Josef it started to rain and the whole area was very misty. It felt like we had gone from summer to winter in about half an hour. The small town of Franz Josef was full of tourists and it had the feel of a ski resort.

Despite the weather Tarun was off on his usual long walk.... Up the mountains on a track that included some tunnels. It sounds like he enjoyed this.

We were booked into a cute little cabin underneath the mountains and went to bed hoping that The weather would improve in the morning.