…but our schedule has been pretty full.
After leaving the Aoraki/Mt Cook area…
Wanaka
Arrowtown
Queenstown
Fjordlands – Milford and Doubtful Sound
Kingston
Haast Pass
Gillespies Beach
Lake Mapourika
Ōkārito Lagoon
Hokatika Gorge
And now we find ourselves on the Northwest Shore of the South Island at a great little spot on the Mokinhui River. I’ve already managed to get three nights here out of Barb, maybe I can get four 🙂
Where did we leave off? Headed from Mt Cook to Wanaka, and Queenstown I think.
Even though Barb poo poos stopping at every roadside attraction, we have yet to regret a stop. This “Clay Cliffs” stop outside of Omarama was pretty cool. You could climb right up into them, and they looked just like Tent Rocks in New Mexico.
Found a great spot to camp on Lake Ohau on our way to Wanaka, and got our first taste of the South Island Sand Fly. They find me absolutely delicious. Even though it was a gorgeous spot, we ended up going in early and playing cribbage.
Wanaka was a very nice town, and we did our first “holiday park” and started to really see some crowds of tourists. Having the boat is a pretty great way to escape. There’s a very popular hike up Roy’s Peak. Something like 3000 feet up in about 3 miles. The view is unchanging on the hike, but it is the most photographed place in NZ, so everyone does it. You get up at 4 am to get to the top for sunrise so you can stand in line to take your picture.
We chose to go for a paddle instead and did a super exciting hike afterwards that was no slouch, called Rocky Mountain Trail. Barb was very brave
We did wake up early the next day, and decided to just hike up the Roy’s Peak Trail a bit for the sunrise. As expected, it was a very boring, road sized, trail that just grinds up the side of the mountain. We went a spell, and watched the sun come up.
Off to Arrowtown. A very pleasant little town. A great place to take a break from cooking and eat at a great restaurant. We even went out and listened to some music in the evening.
We headed to Queenstown next. Very busy, and bustling for our tastes. Instead of tram rides and parasailing off the top of the mountain, we headed to the water where we were absolutely alone.
Off To Fjordlands! We were getting deep into the crowds now. Had a great little campsite – the closest place to Milford sound, so we could get up early and hit the water before the hoards came.
About 4000 people come down the tiny road into Milford – through the craziest tunnel I have ever – to take a look at the very pretty fjord. We were about the 200th person to show up around 7 am. The water was perfectly calm, and the skies were a clear as clear could be.
It was a great way to experience Milford Sound. The water can get quite rough, and we were actually super lucky. The wind picked up on our home stretch, and I am glad we got off the water when we did. Our little, yellow, boat does okay when it gets rough, it just really takes a quite a while to get anywhere.
From where we were camping, there were many great hikes. We chose Lake Marian for our first hike.
From the north side of Fjordlands, we made our way to the south side, so we could do one of our only tourist indulgences – an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound.
Unlike Milford, it gets way less traffic. Maybe 200 people a day. It is mostly because of the fact that you have to take a ferry, get on a bus that takes you over a super steep and sketchy pass – Barb was very brave – and then you get to the Sound. It is way bigger than Milford, and even though you are on boat with 38 other souls, you really feel like you are in the middle of nowhere.
Barb did a little kayak tour with a group, I chose the nature boat where I learned all about Birch Beer, Birch trees, tree avalanches, and lance wood trees.
It was a great 24 hours. Tons of great food, slept in the tiniest bed I have slept in since I left my crib 50 some odd years ago, and didn’t have to drive anything, anywhere.
