So we screwed up again ever so slightly in that we had underestimated the popularity of Queenstown at this time of year, and had left it too late to book a camper van, so we have had to revert to Plan B - hire a car to get to Christchurch and collect a camper from there for our onward journey north to Auckland. I have been to New Zealand before, albeit thirteen years ago, and Queenstown is just as beautiful as I remember it to be. The air is crisp, the sky is big and the views are long. The lake is nestled amongst craggy mountains laced with forests. Teaming with backpackers, it was good for one night whilst we got our bearings and hatched a plan. We returned to the World Bar and the drunken nineteen year old memories came flooding back as soon as I saw the row of teapots… If you've been, you'll know the score. Glenorchy is just forty-five minutes drive north of Queenstown, if you've watched the series Top of the Lake, you'll be able to imagine the scenery here. Kinloch Lodge is a dreamy little spot for lunch, sadly with only five days to get to Christchurch, we had to move on but it would have been a great spot for a good book and a bottle of vino. On the way to Wanaka, there are a few fun stopping points, Chard Farm, Gibbston Valley and Peregrine Vineyards as well as the Kawarau Gorge bungy jump. No chance I was doing that, I did a skydive over Lake Taupo the last time I was here and I think that was the extent of my dare devilling days! Not to mention the price, an added expense which our “bank” (i.e. Rob) would not have approved. I think Wanaka would have been a nice place to while away a couple days but sadly it was an overnight drive through for us. The lake itself is beautiful and there are some good walking trails in the area. The drive to Franz Josef glacier was moody and spell-binding. The landscapes make you want to just stare out the window and think about who you are. It’s rather a windy road along the edge of various lakes and rivers so the mountains loom above you and the clouds expand and shrink, giving you an occasional glimpse of its awesomeness. The Blue Pools walk make a good stopping point which you can swim in if you're brave (we were not) but the SWARMS of sandflies make it less fun. They are small but don't let that deceive you, the little fuckers actually eat you alive and their bites look like little warts. I basically don't leave the car without covering myself in deet, Rob is unsurprisingly far more relaxed. A storm is brewing which isn't ideal considering we need good conditions if we are going to get to do our heli-hike on the glacier which is the main reason we want to visit. I have done it before but it was so good I’d gladly do it again and fun to do it with Rob. You take a ten minute flight up to the top of the glacier, do a two hour hike and then fly down again. The ice formations are insane and its the bluest blue you’ll ever see. Our heli-hike has been cancelled. And we stayed in the shittiest of accommodation yet, and paid an arm and a leg for it on top. Bad mood. We could wait to see if the weather clears but we don’t have the time, and Franz Josef is a tourist trap full of Chinese and Indian tour buses that we just wanna get shot of. Onwards!! Hokitika is a funny little place and one of the wettest in New Zealand. Founded in 1864, it was the centre of the west coast gold rush. Its port ranked number one in NZ days of yore due to the sheer number of boats and the high value of exports. Nowadays, the coastline is ragged, driftwood and creepy witch-crafty sculptures are strewn across the beach and the wind and sea-spray whips across your face. Beach combing for the indigenous pounamu green stone (aka jade) is a main activity here. I am delighted to say I now have a little bag full of what I genuinely believe to be jade (Rob doesn't agree) to be shipped home in our next package.
Hokitika has some beautiful and isolated examples of heritage architecture such as the Custom House and the Clock Tower. It is also the setting for a book called The Luminaries which coincidentally Rob is currently reading! It is also home to one of the more fun natural phenomenons we have come across here on the South Island - glowworms! There is a little dell just out of town which is home to thousands of these little glow in the dark worms (which are in fact maggots, not worms, glow-maggots just doesn’t have the same ring to it). We arrived at dusk and stayed until it was pitch black. It was like looking at the Milky Way, magical. Our experience of this place was made even move bizarre by our hilarious Airbnb host for the night - a seventy year old South African lady who lives with her Afrikaans speaking parrot Casanova, a budgie and the little yapper of a pooch, Winnie. Literally couldn't make this shit up. At breakfast she fed Casanova water from her own mouth. Enough said. Comments are closed.
|
AuthorsRob & Charlie's travelling adventures on their long journey back to London after living in Hong Kong. Four continents, twelve countries, lots of experiences. Archives
July 2017
All photos copyright ©
Robert Ware & Charlotte Nunn |