Ciao for Now

After an amazing day at Fox Glacier we packed up Big Red and headed all the way to the northwest of the South Island, over Takaka Hill to the seldom visited Golden Bay, a place Lonely Planet describes as “laid back to near horizontal.”  Golden Bay’s tiny main town of Takaka is basically a one-lane street full of colorful cafes and craft shops and must be where 95% of New Zealand’s hippies call home.  I haven’t seen this many dreadlocks since my last Phish show.  We based ourselves about ten minutes down the road in Pohara at a little motel right on the beach.  After doing some serious driving over the previous couple of days, it was a perfect spot to chill out for a little bit.  We spent three nights there and easily could have spent a couple more.

Our beachfront motel in Pohara	View from our deck…letting Big Red take a breather

Sunset over Farewell Spit

Driving around Pohara

Another night, another great sunset	The empty beach at Pohara

“Downtown” Takaka	Takaka’s cafes and shops

Takaka had cool murals everywhere

During one of our days in Golden Bay, we visited the wild, almost deserted Wharariki Beach, which required a 30-minute hike through some farmland to get to.  It’s definitely the most remote beach I’ve ever been to.  We navigated some deceptively steep sand dunes and found a perfect spot for a picnic.  Afterwards, we swung by Kaihoka Lakes, where the owner of our motel told us they filmed most of The Hobbit.

Hiking to Wharariki Beach

Wharariki Beach	Just us and some birds

Archway islands off Wharariki Beach

Lunch time

Kaihoka Lakes

Hobbit land

Our main reason for visiting Golden Bay was to spend some time in Abel Tasman National Park, one of New Zealand’s top attractions and another one of the country’s nine Great Walks.  We planned on taking a taxi boat into the middle of the park and maybe doing some sea kayaking, but unfortunately due to a road closure from some recent flooding, we made a detour to the far north end of the park.  This turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we got to explore a less visited, more remote area of Abel Tasman, and also because some really strong winds came in later that day that would have made kayaking impossible.  Anna and I did the four-hour hike from Wainui to Mutton Cove, and we must have only seen three or four other people the entire time.  The scenery was incredible and reminded us a lot of Kauai.  Hard to believe that we were just hiking to a glacier a couple days ago.

Abel Tasman National Park

The hiking path was a little treacherous after some recent flooding

Mutton Cove	More Mutton Cove

We felt like castaways	Perfect spot for a peanut butter and Manuka honey sandwich

Easy to find some solitude in New Zealand

Our next stop after Golden Bay was Nelson.  Nelson is often used as a jumping off point for the southern parts of Abel Tasman, but having just visited the northern part, Anna and I pretty much spent our time walking around the decent-sized downtown, saying farewell to Big Red, trying some of the areas many microbrews, going to the local market (where yours truly worked this morning), catching up on some laundry and our blog, and getting ready for our next WWOOF stint at Windsong Orchard.  Our favorite spot in Nelson had to be The Free House, an old wooden church that’s been converted into a neighborhood pub and houses some of the region’s more interesting brews.  To top it off, you can get some amazing Indian take-out across the street and eat it in the beer garden.  Yum.

Christ Church Cathedral in Nelson	The hills around Nelson

Sampling some New Zealand craft Brew at The Free House	Indian food and brew…mmmmm!

The yurt and garden at The Free House	Don’t worry Anna, I’m know what I’m doing

Some breakfast crepes at the Nelson market	Nelson Market

After a beautiful drive from Wanaka and through the Haast Pass we arrived to New Zealand’s West Coast, a region with over eight percent of the country’s land mass but less than one percent of its population.  And we thought the rest of New Zealand was uncrowded.  Our first stop was the tiny township of Fox Glacier, located in the shadows of Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman (NZ’s second highest peak) and surrounded by endless acres of farmland…dare I say, one of the most gorgeous settings of anywhere we’ve been in New Zealand?  We chose to stay in Fox Glacier as opposed to the more visited Franz Glacier because here it’s possible to hike to the glacier’s terminal face if you don’t want to fork over the bucks for a guided tour on top of the glacier.  Perfect for us, since we plan on spending our remaining funds on massages, yoga classes and fruity drinks in Indonesia.

We only had one full day to explore the area, so we were thrilled when we woke up to a picture perfect sunny day without a cloud in the sky…much different weather than the last time we tried to see Mt. Cook from the other side of the Southern Alps.  We set off early for a walk around nearby Lake Matheson, highlighted by Mt. Cook’s mirror-like reflection in the lake’s still waters.  After a quick coffee break, we headed off to hike to the terminal face of Fox Glacier.  I’m gonna keep it real with you…glaciers just don’t really do it for me.  I appreciate their power and endurance and the way they’ve shaped the earth as we see it today, but to me they just look like muddy blocks of ice.  Give me a waterfall or raging river any day of the week.  Call me old-fashioned, but I like my beer cold, my music loud and my bodies of water flowing.  Next we drove along a gravel road to an old gold mining settlement at Gillespies Beach.  Now, I think it’s pretty cool when you’re on the corner of Jamboree and PCH and you can see the snow-capped San Bernardino mountains in front of you and Balboa Island behind you, so I was blown away by Gillespies Beach.  Here we were on a New Zealand beach with the sparkling blue water of the Tasman sea in front of us and a crystal clear shot of the imposing Mt. Cook behind us.  Pretty awesome.

Walking path around Lake Matheson

Mt. Cook’s perfect reflection in Lake Matheson

Another view of Mt. Cook from our walk around Lake Matheson

Hiking to Fox Glacier	Thar she blows!

At the terminal face of Fox Glacier

Fox Glacier from a different point of view…not a bad spot to be a cow

Gillespies Beach	Tasman sea on one side…

…and Mt. Cook on the other

Mt. Cook in the late afternoon

Enjoying our last hours of sunlight in Fox Glacier

After an action-packed day exploring the area around Fox Glacier, we headed to our next stop on the West Coast, Hokitika. I’ll be honest…this might be the most forgettable place of our entire trip. This town makes Modesto look like St. Tropez. The grey weather combined with the empty streets and the eerie driftwood sculptures on the beach made us feel like we were in the setting of a Stephen King novel or something. However, we made the most of our time here with a trip to the nearby Hokitika Gorge, a whitebait pizza (a local delicacy) at Fat Pipi’s and a nighttime visit to the glowworm dell.

Hokitika Gorge	The color of the water was incredible

Making Anna nervous

Good ol’ Hokitika

At least the pizza was tasty	The local whitebait pizza

After seeing my parents off at the Queenstown airport, we drove for about an hour to our next lakeside destination, Wanaka. Unfortunately it was pretty frigid and gray when we arrived, but our accommodation for the night, Wanaka Bakpaka, was super cool and had a cozy hang out area with million dollar views of the lake. We made the most of our evening with a yummy Indian meal at the Spice Market (where our friends Dennis and Robyn had just been a few weeks earlier and loved) and then caught a flick at the very unique “Cinema Paradiso.” Attached to a funky cafe and with just one theatre where you could choose to sit on everything from a couch to a convertible Beetle, it was definitely a one-of-a-kind movie experience. There was even a short “intermission” half way through Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, and we couldn’t resist the array of freshly baked, steaming cookies lining the counters of the cafe. Any place that offers wine, cookies, lazyboy recliners and movies is a winner in my book!

The next morning we woke up early, packed up Big Red, and headed to Mt. Iron Track for an hour-and-a-half trek up to the top of the mountain to check out the view. We were happy to have increasing blue skies and sunshine and rewarded ourselves after the hike with a Red Star burger. We read that there is a bit of a rivalry between Queenstown’s Fergbuger and Wanaka’s Red Star, so we thought we’d do our due diligence and try both. We went for a vegetarian option at Red Star with falafel, beet relish, hummus and sweet chili sauce. With a side of Kumara fries (NZ’s sweet potato), it couldn’t be beat! Sorry, Ferg, my vote goes to Red Star.

All fueled up and ready to go we hit the road with Big Red for a six hour drive to Fox Glacier. Everywhere we have driven in New Zealand had been pretty jaw-droppingly beautiful, but this drive was the most scenic and stunning yet. We passed by glacial lakes and rivers and through the Southern Alps on Haast Pass. Every now and then a waterfall would appear plunging off a steep ravine and then at next glance we’d be driving past bright green pastures of sheep and cows grazing beneath snow-covered peaks. We drove through Mt. Aspiring National Park and the tiny town of Haast, where we stopped at a coffee cart that was kind of in the middle of nowhere for a “flat white” and a “long black” (I love that no matter where you are in New Zealand, you can always find an amazing cup of coffee!). After passing through Haast, the terrain all of a sudden took on an almost tropical feel and suddenly we were skirting sheer cliffs along the coast. We curved again through the lush tropical ferns away from the coast and reemerged at Bruce’s Beach, a windswept stark beach, littered with driftwood. And when I say driftwood, it was more like whole trees lying gray and bleached along the beach. Many of the trees still standing looked as though they’d been permanently blown in one direction and stood like lopsided sculptures along the sand. Not long after passing Bruce’s Beach, we made it to our final destination, Fox Glacier, where we were literally at the foot of Mt. Cook and the glaciers that distinguish its surface. It was amazing how drastically the landscape changed within 6 hours of driving…it was hard to believe that we were still in the same country at the end of the day!

Queenstown would have to rank as one of our favorite places we’ve been in New Zealand even without the added bonus of getting to spend time with my brother.  It’s such a cool place.  There’s an energetic buzz and social vibe in Queenstown that’s been lacking in some of the other New Zealand spots we’ve been.  Plus, the setting is incredible.  The cafes, restaurants and bars are full of people sharing laughs and beers and stories from their morning’s hike, bike ride or other adventure.  The beaches and parks are full of people picnicking and playing frisbee while street musicians play nearby.  We spent five nights in Queenstown and easily could’ve spent more…especially since the house we rented was directly on Lake Wakatipu with incredible views of The Remarkables.  Some highlights from a great stay in Queenstown: stopping for an infamous Fergburger on the way into town, daily walks through the Queenstown Gardens, riding the Skyline Gondola to Bob’s Peak and watching the paragliders, pizza and beers with Jay and Vaughan at The Cow, day trips to historic Arrowtown and Gibbston Valley…and of course being treated like royalty by Jay.

First stop…Fergburger!	Our first meal in our house…what a view!

Our house from the back…	…and the front

Lake Wakatipu on our doorstep	Ladies on the lake

Our view was like living inside a painting

We spent a lot of time in the Queenstown Gardens	Our daily commute to town

View towards Queenstown from the gardens

Queenstown beach	An ideal setting for a town

Susan and Big Pete high above Queenstown after riding the Skyline Gondola

Off he goes	Weeeee!

Lakeside piano serenade at sunset

Special pie for a special guy

Bros	Dudes

Historic Arrowtown	Arrowtown charm

Anna’s Graceland…Chard Farm	Chard Farm tasting room

The vineyards at Chard Farm

Watching the bungy jumpers at Kawarau Bridge	Bungeeeee!

Bye, Queenstown…we’ll miss you

After a final night in Te Anau, we made our way back up to Queenstown…a town where we had so much fun that we’ll need multiple blog posts to do it justice. On one of our days in QT (am I hip or what?), the macho team of Johnny, Jay and Big Pete left the women and children at home and set out for a day of tramping (what the Kiwis call hiking) on the Routeburn Track, one of New Zealand’s nine “Great Walks,” a series of multi-day walking tracks through some of the country’s best scenery. The Routeburn Track is one of the more popular Great Walks as it traverses both Mt. Aspiring and Fiordland National Parks and offers a variety of landscapes and stunning views.

We began our hike at the Routeburn Shelter near the town of Glenorchy, located about an hour from Queenstown. I’m glad Anna and Susan declined my offer to hang out in Glenorchy while the dudes hiked because the “town” consisted of a general store, a tractor and six sheep. From the Routreburn Shelter it was about a 90-minute walk through fern forests, across swing bridges and over gorges to the Routeburn Flats Hut, an ideal setting for a peanut butter, honey and banana sandwich. After a quick lunch break, it was a steep, hour-long climb up to the Routeburn Falls Hut. Routeburn? More like Calvesburn. Heyo! After taking in the Shire-esque views (cut me some slack…I’ve gone three New Zealand blog posts without mentioning Lord of the Rings), we made our way back down to our car. Big Pete beat the spring chickens by a solid half an hour. I’m convinced he started going downhill and just couldn’t stop himself. It was an incredible day of tramping, although it made me wish I had more of my camping gear so that I could properly do one of the Great Walks. Hey, with Jay living out here now, maybe Anna and I will have to make a return trip.

I have to give a quick kudos to the New Zealand Department of Conservation. I’ve never been in a place where the outdoors are as easily accessible as they are in New Zealand.  All the hiking trails, lookout points, etc. are well-marked and have incredibly well-maintained facilities.  I mean, the two huts we hiked to on the Routeburn Track were nicer than 90% of the places Anna and I stayed in Southeast Asia. With over thousands of kilometers of hiking trails in New Zealand, it is truly an outdoor enthusiasts Shangri-La.

With our bellies full from an amazing lunch at Amisfield Bistro courtesy of Jay, we made the drive along Lake Wakatipu down to Te Anau…the gateway to Fiordland.  We had a day to kill before heading to Milford Sound, and the rain let up just enough for us to explore the town of Te Anau and go on a little hike at nearby Lake Manapouri.  With a handful of restaurants and shops and a nice lakeside path, Te Anau is definitely worth a night or two to break up the long drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound.

Of course, the main reason for coming to Te Anau is its proximity to Fiordland National Park, home to Milford and Doubtful Sounds.  Fun Fact: Milford and Doubtful Sounds are technically fiords, as they were created by retreating glacial activity and not running water.  These sounds are regarded as two of the most spectacular sights in New Zealand…which must make them two of the most spectacular sights on earth.  We chose to explore the more popular Milford Sound and hit the road early to make it to our 10:00am cruise.  Whoa!  The 119km drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound along the Milford Highway is an adventure in itself.  We passed the rolling farmland near Te Anau Down and the beautiful Eglinton Valley before taking in the reflections at Mirror Lakes.  Next we drove through beech forests and wetlands until we headed into the long, dark, wet, one-way Homer Tunnel.  I have panic attacks on Splash Mountain at Disneyland, so let’s just say this wasn’t my favorite part of the drive.  After the Homer Tunnel it was another white-knuckle 20km drive down impossibly windy roads and across one lane bridges until we arrived at the boat terminal with just enough time to grab a coffee and for me to change my underwear.

Our tour of Milford Sound was something I won’t soon forget.  We cruised by the imposing Mitre Peak, alongside steep cliffs, right next to waterfalls (made all the better from the heavy rainfall over the past couple of days), past seal colonies and out to the Tasman Sea before heading back again.  The vegetation was pretty incredible as well.  With over 200 days of rainfall a year, Fiordland National Park is technically a rainforest.  I’ve never seen such lush, almost tropical, trees clinging to the side of sheer cliffs.  One guy on our boat hit the nail on the head when he said, “Milford Sound must be what happens when Hawaii and Alaska have a baby.”  After our cruise, we stopped at a couple more viewpoints we missed along the drive before making a picnic and heading back to Te Anau.  What a day!

After a great couple of days in Kaikoura we packed up Big Red for our longest driving day of our South Island tour.  One thing we’ve quickly realized, though, is that travel days in New Zealand are kinda awesome.  The scenery everywhere is just stunning.  It’s definitely one of those “the journey is the destination” type places.  After driving south for about an hour we cut inland via the Inland Scenic Route 72, a beautiful drive through the region where the Canterbury Plains meet the Southern Alps.  We passed friendly farming town after friendly farming town, stopped for a great lunch in Oxford, and finally arrived at our next home base at Lake Tekapo in the heart of Mackenzie Country.

The town of Lake Tekapo is basically a gas station, a tourist information office and a couple cafes…in fact, we brought the town’s population up from 315 to a whopping 319 during our three nights there.  But whatever Lake Tekapo lacked on the cultural front it made up for tenfold with its natural beauty (are you noticing a theme, here?).  We rented an awesome cabin located a couple steps from the lake and just around the corner from the town’s famed Church of the Good Shepard and collie dog statue.

The sediment left behind by the stony-bottomed glacier that formed Lake Tekapo causes it and other lakes in the region to display an incredible icy-blue, turquoise color.  It’s like no lake I’ve ever seen before.  We spent our first afternoon admiring our new surroundings and BBQing some burgers in our cabin.  On our second day we hiked up to Mt. John for some lunch at the Astro Café, where we took in views of the entire Mackenzie Basin before coming back to our cabin and running into some serious New Zealand “traffic” on the one-lane bridge.  Later that night the clouds parted, and we were treated to some of the clearest skies and brightest stars we’d ever seen.  The entire Milky Way was visible…pretty awesome.  I’ll run out of adjectives if I keep talking about how beautiful the area is, so here are some pics.

On our last day in the area we drove an hour to Mt. Cook National Park.  At 3,755 meters Mt. Cook is New Zealand’s tallest peak, and it’s where local legend Sir Edmund Hillary would prepare for his summits of Everest.  We hiked into the nearby Hooker Valley, which took us across a couple swing bridges and up to the end of the Hooker Glacier.  Unfortunately it was a little cloudy that day, and we weren’t able to see Mt. Cook in all its glory, but it was cool to see it jutting up into the sky and living up to its Maori name, Aoraki, meaning “Cloud Piercer”.