Haast Pass to Invercargill

Tuesday 3 March
It’s 9 am and I slept great. I woke up to the light of the sun and a somewhat chill temperature. Of course, with the amazingly clear sky last night, the temperature didn’t surprise me. It was so clear I could easily see the Milky Way – despite the lights behind me. I braved the cold and stuck my arm out to open my tent fly. There were no clouds in the sky, so not much of a sunrise to catch. I decided I best get up and going anyway. I stretched my stiff muscles (sleeping in the cold always makes me more tense) and then headed for the shower. There wasn’t much pressure, but the warm water and soap was really nice! I washed my hair three times!!!
Now –I have eaten breakfast, chosen and resized pictures for both my blogs, and have updated this blog. Argh. And I’m getting eaten by sand flies again!!!!! Time to go! Gotta finish drying my tent and packing my car – then it’s over the Haast pass and into Wanaka…….

………
THE HAAST PASS
Though it’s only a 2 hour drive from Haast to Wanka, it took me all day to drive the pass – then I didn’t even make it to Wanaka. Ha ha ha….
My first stop was Roaring Billy Falls. It was a nice short walk through the woods. I came out at a really wide river bed covered in stones. The river must really flood sometimes, as I had goo ways to walk before I reached the green waters separating me from the falls. So, I had to make do with pictures from afar. It was a neat falls; in that there was more than one flow and it had many cascade levels. However, it is a falls that is probably best viewed in the evening – the morning sun was glaring right into my eyes, coming out from behind the mountain that the falls was on. The pictures really aren’t fully impressive either. In fact – most of the scenic pictures I took this day don’t do any justice!!!! Must be the bright sunlight – clouds make everything more dramatic ;-)

My next stop was a 5 minute walk to Thunder Creek Falls. It was tall, long, and straight. Next, was Fantail Falls. This was a funny place. It was a 5 minute walk down from the road to the river bed. Again, you walked across the higher, dry section of river rock to be stopped by the green river. However, the masses of people that have visited this waterfall have used the flat riverstones to build cairns – lots and lots of cairns! (Cairns are stacks of rocks, large cairns are often used for marking routes in the backcountry). It was really quite amazing to see, a riverbed covered in hundreds of cairns. Most were quite small, but some were quite convoluted – almost pillars. The falls itself was beautiful too – starting as one major fall and splitting out into a fan at the base (much like the fantail bird it’s named after). Oh – and no, I didn’t build a cairn. That’s not really my thing. I did add a small rock to the top of a half finished one though.

Next up was the pass itself. Really it didn’t differ much from the rest of the drive – no massive view over the mountains, lots of trees on either side of the road. Luckily, there were a few cars pulled over, so I didn’t miss the parking lot for the lookout walk. When I first arrived there were two couples setting out on a trail. I thought the trail across the road was the one I wanted. However, when it kept sloping gently downwards and paralleling the road (until the river put a valley between us), I decided I was on the wrong path. I decided to keep going to the lookout on this path, and then I would go back and actually climb to the lookout over the pass. The corner lookout wasn’t terribly impressive, but gave a good view over the Makarora valley. I headed back up the trail, quite pleased that gentle uphill slope didn’t slow my pace – maybe I was getting fitter? Ha, any thoughts of fitness went out the window when I started up the Haast pass trail. Well, that’s not fair – I think most people, despite their fitness, would have been slightly slowed by the steepness of the path! If you want to know how steep, I think putting your treadmill on its highest incline would be fairly accurate ;-) Anyhow – I finally made it to the top. My reward wasn’t the snow capped peaks of the Southern Alps I had been hoping for, but the view was sensational. Again – the pictures don’t do it justice. The one I am posting shows the best example of the grey, jagged mountain tops sticking up above the green, tree covered bottoms. The mountain on the right still has snow on it. I headed back down the mountain just as 2 ladies came up. I was quite glad that I had taken my little "wrong track detour"; it gave me the opportunity to have the lookout to myself for a good bit.

Next, I stopped at Cameron Creek. I walked 10 minutes to a lookout overlooking the Makarora Valley. I took the time to stretch a bit and enjoy the view before heading to the Cameron Flat picnic spot for a bit of lunch. Before getting in my car from Cameron Creek, I headed back to look at the signpost map. Boy am I glad I did – a flutter of red rose up as I walked. I had never seen this butterfly before! I never did get a really good picture of its open wings – it’s so hard for butterflies, since they rest with their wings up – but I did get a good wing closed one. You have to have the up close picture to see that there is any color on the brown wings!

I stopped briefly at the Makarora DoC visitor center and then continued on to Boundary Creek, a camp ground on Lake Wanaka. I had a wander around the area taking scenic and botanical pictures. I caught my first decent picture of a fantail bird here! They are a pain to capture – just as bad as silvereyes, wrens, tomtits, or just about any other small bird that flits around all the time!

The highway then took me away from Lake Wanaka, over a saddle, and had me staring straight at Lake Hawea. I stopped quickly for a picture and then headed down towards the lake, turning off onto a gravel road that ran along the top of the lake and towards the east coast. I arrived at the DoC campsite, Kidds Bush. I was drawn to this campsite (rather than one somewhat closer to Wanaka) because of the 2 hour return walk that started from it. However, the Haast Pass track had really knackered me! I was nearly exhausted just walking around the campground! I started off with a nice cool wade in the lake. The water was freezing, but the sun was so hot that I didn’t mind. The brown, dry mountain sides and the intense sun made me think of Idaho. I tried to do a bit of yoga in my tent (away from the sand flies), but it was WAY too hot to be in a muggy tent (even with the fly off). So I got out and took some pictures of the wood pigeons that had roosted low in a tree. After taking my pictures, my neighbor (in a camper trailer) asked me if I’d like a "cuppa" (cup of tea). I couldn’t refuse. I sat and chatted with the old fellow and his wife for quite some time. They were born Kiwi, she having never left the country, and were both big into hiking and mountaineering. They are currently living in Te Anau and doing trout guiding. It also turns out that he recognized my tent! They had been at the Haast Beach Holiday Park the night before too! Ha ha ha. While they went to talk with their friend, I took the 20 minute nature walk. Afterwards, I lounged around in the hot sun and read a book I had acquired at the holiday park’s book swap (I changed 4 books, I was in dire need of new material). As the sun set, I made several runs from my tent to the lake to take pictures of the colors over the lake.

Wednesday 4 March
The next morning I woke quite early. The sun was far from coming over the mountains bordering the lake. This meant that it would be ages before my tent dried out. I decided to give the steep trail a go – the Sawyer Burn Track took 3 hours if you wanted to get to the hut, but I just wanted a view. With every clearing of bush I had a great view over the lake and its surrounding mountains, but I kept going. I’m not certain why – glutton for punishment (because yeah, it was steep!!) I followed the trail for a bit when it rounded the mountain ridge I wanted to climb, but when it started going downhill I knew there was no point following it further. I took off and headed towards the ridge, where I found another trail. I followed it up the ridge and was met with spectacular mountains! They were all jagged rock – right down the sides of them. It’s really a view I can’t even begin to explain and the pictures don’t do justice. But, at the top of that ridge, I was so glad I was there. I took my time on the way down – my knees were aching afterwards though; between the constant squatting to photograph small alpine plants and the steep descent I was ready for some vitamin I (ibuprofen). However, I completely forgot about my knees when my concentration was thoroughly disrupted. I had managed not to jump off the knife edge ridge when cicadas (loud as ever) jumped onto my neck or flew in my ear, but I gave a massive start when something in the trail made a move and caught my attention. Actually, it was probably the wicked hiss I was given by the feral cat that made me jump, more than the shock of seeing them on the side of thetrail. I was really, really glad not to be near a steep edge with precarious footing when I ran into the two cats. At least, I’m certain they were cats. Pretty sure they weren’t possum. It appears they were eating the remains of a very small bunny rabbit :-(

Back on flat ground and at my tent, I had a small chat with the older lady. She remembered the ridge and where I had gone from past explorations. She also remembered her achy knees – so she vowed not to go back up again! After saying goodbye, I had a bit of lunch, packed up my now dry tent (I had hung the dripping wet fly on a tree while I was away), and headed off. I followed the gravel road to the end, where it turned into private farm land. The older couple had suggested I see the lake from this angle. I then drove back to the main highway- following the lake edge to the near bottom before turning off towards Wanaka.

Wanaka is a small, town set right at the bottom of Lake Wanaka. It is cute, but it is touristy – catering to rock climbers and trampers mainly. The main beach was quite busy – the free parking lot being crowded with rental campervans and cars. The intense heat of the sun was offset by the strong breeze coming down the lake. I had stopped at the DoC visitor center on my arrival and picked up some brochures on walks in the area. I sat on the beach and sorted out a plan. The Sawyer Burn trail had knackered me, but I still had a lot of day left and plenty of sun – which I expected to turn to rain in the next 2 days. So, I headed back down the road with a plan to walk the western edge of the lake. I made it 5 minutes down the track before I decided I was tired and chose to sit on the first beach I saw! I laid in the sun reading my book and refreshing my color (hey, I’d been in the clouds and rain, I’m sure my golden brown had faded a bit ;-) From the sounds the waves were making against the shore, you would have thought that I was on the ocean - I had curling waves and everything. It was a very stiff wind – no wonder I ended up with red cheeks that night, it was easy to forget the sun’s heat in the cool wind.

I was just standing up to leave when Dave called. He wanted me to charge my phone and check my e-mail. I found the Wanaka library and paid a few dollars for ½ an hour of internet. I replied to the 3 e-mails my sister had sent me (the most in one week she’s probably sent anyone!!) and then sat outside the library chatting with Dave. We talked for ages before I hung up the phone – missing him more than ever – and headed to the grocery store. I figured I was due a good dose of red meat. There weren’t any small packages of beef mince (hamburger), so I went for a thin $3 slice of steak instead. I camped at Albert Town camp grounds that night. It was so warm, so dry, and so brown that I couldn’t help but think of camping in Idaho.


Thursday 5 March
I woke up very early on this morning. I knew that I had a decent drive to get to the Rob Roy glacier hike I was doing, so I decided to stay awake. I even hoped to catch a bit of color in the clouds as I ate breakfast and packed my tent, but apparently the clouds were too thick for the color to reach them. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that my tent was completely dry, even before the sun was out!

I drove back through Wanaka and towards Mount Aspiring National Park. I stopped and took a picture of the mountains and glacier over the lake on my way there. Then it was as fast as I could down the gravel road. There were about 4 or 5 fords to cross, but Jim handled them well – they weren’t terribly deep. The clouds were accumulated around the tops of the mountains and the wind was howling down the valley when I parked my car and started heading up the trail. Some of the clouds were grey and looking like it might definitely rain today. A shaft of sunlight produced a partial rainbow on the bottom of the clouds. I came across two signs, on the trail and at the end, telling me not to feed the keas (NZ alpine parrot). I only wish I had seen one to not feed! But with the wind howling through, I couldn’t blame any birds for not being around. Once I started into the gorge towards the glacier the wind calmed, but the roar of the water rushing below prevented my hearing any small birds – if they were there. The view at the end of the trail was lovely. A large glacier wrapped itself around several peaks of rock and hung above large black cliffs. The melting ice produced lots of waterfalls running on the rock wall. Again – indescribable. This picture doesn’t do it justice. You can see that clouds were still hanging around. I had hoped that they would clear, I could see the sun trying to shine through, but it wasn’t until I finished wandering and decided to head back that the sun started coming out. I thought about turning back around to bask in the view and the sun, but within 5 minutes of walking away from the trail end I had already passed 7 people!!!! Yeah, I wasn’t going to bother. I’d had my time, enjoying the solitude and the nature.

When I returned to the car park it was FULL. Way more people had crossed the watery fords in a chance to check out the park. I saw one couple with big packs on their backs; I assume they were heading up to Aspiring hut and possibly beyond. I gave a mental hope that they didn’t get to much wet weather. I sped back down the road, leaving a cloud of dust behind. I stopped at Diamond Lake conservation park, but didn’t stay long. I walked up far enough for a view over the lake and then a bit further for a bit of a Lake Wanaka view. However, I was knackered and really didn’t feel up to much more uphill. I did however take some video of bell birds. It’s more audio than visual though, as the birds were hidden in the trees – so I’m hoping the audio even comes out. The birds remind me less of bells ringing and more of tuis! I expected to see tui birds the first time I heard them!

I took care of a bit of business (mapping out possibilities for my next bit of travel) while I charged my phone again (texting takes the batteries out pretty fast!). Then I headed back to Albert Town park and set up a new camp. I could have headed out of town to Queenstown, but all the camps in the Qtown area were in the mountains – which were supposed to be getting rain. So I decided to stay in a warm area and hope he rains didn’t hit.

Friday 6 March
The rain started just after I’d settled into my sleeping bag. It was just a bit of a drizzle at first, but by morning it was a constant hard rain. I snoozed in an out for a bit, listening for breaks in the rain. I eventually gave up on the rain actually stopping and took advantage of a light sprinkling lull. I put everything in the car and then managed to keep the tent pretty dry by cleverly taking it down taking off the fly. Though the fly was soaked, I laid it out in the car to at least drip off a bit. Just as I headed out of camp the rain started getting heavier again.
I took the Cardrona Valley road from Wanaka to Queenstown. The road wound through brown, Idaho-like hills. The clouds hung low, but didn’t drop much rain. Soon, the gorge opened to a fantastic view over the sun drenched Queenstown district! Yeah, sun drenched! Sure, there were clouds hanging on the fringe and the roads looked like it had rained over night, but the majority of the area was now warm and bright. I drove into town and checked out a couple of hostels, in the hopes of finding some cheap internet for the day. I found a place that fit my budget while also giving me a soft bed, unfortunately I wasn’t able to check into the place until 3! So, my plan of geeking out all day and uploading pictures went out the window. Which probably wasn’t a bad thing – since it was nice out!

I parked my car at the hostel and then went for a walk about town. I walked down by the lake, through town, and then up the Queenstown hill walkway. On my way up to the beginning of the trail I ran into an American/Kiwi couple. We all ended up walking up the hill together and having a nice little talk. Ellen was from Hawaii and Russell was from Christchurch. They had met each other on an airplane, changed their connections, and have been together for 18 years! Well, together but not necessarily in the same place. Russell’s job as an economic consultant had him flying all over the world (Uganda, Nepal, etc). They own a house in Hawaii and also in the Queenstown area. Anyhow, we had a nice little walk and talk to the top of the lower loop, where a metal piece of artwork was sited. "The Basket of Dreams" was a nice place to have a bit if lunch before Ellen and Russell continued to the top of the hill and I continued around the loop. I would have gone to the top of the hill, but I had actually forgotten my bottle of water (which is weird because that’s almost always with me). It was so sweet, as we were saying goodbye Ellen gave me a hug! Ha ha ha, very random and nice. (sorry, I never did a picture of Ellen and Russell – though they did take a couple pictures of me for me!).

On my way down the hill towards town, I saw some sort of event going on in a park. As I got nearer the rugby field I realized that it was some sort of fire brigade competition. Fire hoses were going off and men were running around rolling up hoses. In New Zealand, the fire brigades are all volunteer (I’m pretty sure). I knew that fire brigades from around the country were present for the competition because I recognized the towns of Matamata (Hobbiton) and Hamilton – both near Thames. I sat on the field and watched for a bit. It was quite entertaining and a good way to kill time until the I could check into the hostel. I was thinking about going for a walk around town to kill the last half hour, when the rain arrived. By the time I reached the hostel I was soaked!

I sat in the hostel dining room having some tea and waiting for them to open. I got checked in, took a shower, and then set up my computer for the free wifi. The rest of the night was pretty much spent geeking. The dining room was an interesting place to work, I could listen to all the stories being told – particularly by the loader people. There was one guy that sounded exactly like Ewan McGregor. He was regaling several girls with his adventures through India and his drunken antic with his bodies around Qtown.

Saturday 7 March
I didn’t get to bed until late – as the pictures took ages to load – but I couldn’t sleep in terribly late. I pulled myself out of bed, got frustrated when my computer wouldn’t connect to the internet, took a shower, and then packed up my car. I knew rain was expected for the day, but luckily the sun was out for the morning. On my way up Lake Wakatipu (the lake that Qtown is located on) towards Glenorchy, I stopped and had a walk down the coast. I had expected the waterfall listed as 10 minutes away to be an actual waterfall! Silly me! The only water I came across after near 30 minutes of walking was a hilly stream and the lake shore. Eventually I turned around and headed back to the car and kept heading to Glenorchy.

I passed up several good pull offs (just couldn’t stop fast enough) where I could have taken some pictures of the lake and it’s green and blue color (green where the sun hit it, blue where the clouds were). When I saw someone pulled over with their camera I looked to see what view they had – it was a rainbow!!!! I slowed down and found a spot stop and took my own photos.
When I arrived in Glenorchy I could see the clouds dropping rain in the mountains, so I decided to hit the lagoon walk before the rain reached me. It was a nice little walk, with black swans paddling around here and there. I decided to forgo exploring further around the lake and into the mountains (where many multi-day walks are located). I figured I had a good view of the mountains from afar and the view of the bush in the mountains would be the same as the view in the bush of other mountains. So, I headed back towards Queenstown.

I stopped at Bob’s Cove on my way down the lake. It was the site of an old limestone burning area (to make quicklime for mortar in the buildings of Queenstown). The rain mostly held off while I walked around the area and took pictures of the kiln and gum trees.

I decided to stop at the Twelve Mile campground to see if that’s where I might want to stay for the night – setting up my tent during light rains and being prepared for hard rains. I had a little bit of lunch on the lake shore until the rains started again and I hid in my car with a book. I was surprised when I heard a sound, looked up from my book, and found a crack in my windshield!!!! What!!!! Oh, I was annoyed. I’d been looking for chips ever since I replaced my windscreen. When I looked at the crack from the outside, I found that there was a very, very, very small chip at the top- in the black bar at the top, where you can’t see it from inside. Ugh, I was so annoyed I drove back towards Qtown and talked about it with Dave. While we were talking I told him how I had no idea where I was going to stay. When we talked later – after I’d stopped by the information center – Dave told me he had found a place for me to stay in Central Otago! The internet and cell phones are great helps!!!

On my way towards Clyde I made a loop through Arrowtown. Kathy, Dave’s mum, had hoped I could see the colors changing when I drove through, but I appear to have been a couple weeks early – as only a few tree leaves were yellow. When I drove through Arrowtown I was surprised to find a "Chinese Settlement" sign. I toured through a reconstructed Chinese settlement from the gold mining days. It was a rather interesting look into a lifestyle that I had never considered. The buildings were small, the doorways short, and the some of the houses were actually built into the rock outcrops! Quite interesting.

After leaving Arrowtown I drove the same road mom and I had driven a few weeks previous – heading towards Cromwell. I drove through Cromwell and to Clyde. I followed Dave’s directions to find Frasier Domain. The internet had said it was a free camp, but it was actually $2.50 a night to the caretakers – so yeah, pretty much free! I set up my tent in the sun and occupied myself with a book and Sudoku for the night.

Sunday 8 March
While packing up my tent at the Frasier Domain, the caretaker came over and had a yak. He told me about his house in town near Gore – a little place called Tapanui. Before I rolled away, he came back and tapped on my window – giving me detailed directions to his house. He wanted me to drive by and check it out. He said that it was a shame they weren’t home or they’d have me stay for a few days! How random, I hadn’t actually talked to him before! Southern hospitality I guess!

I drove back into Clyde and had a walk up to a lookout over the town. I headed into Central Otago because I had heard it was full of space – very "non New Zelandish". I was expecting flat country for miles and miles. However, what I got was something that reminded me very much of Idaho. Black rugged rocks protruding from brown land and rolling hills with orchards and river valleys scattered throughout. At the top of the lookout I had a view of the sprawling town as well as the Clyde dam.

After my walk, I headed towards Alexandra. I had watched dark rain clouds move in while I was in Clyde, so I wasn’t surprised when rain splattered me in Alexndra. I stopped at the information center and found a couple of walks around town. I wasn’t up for anything long in the rain, so I ended up just driving to the lookout and taking pictures of the town, the rocks, and the town clock on the hill – a big clock placed on the rock of the hill behind town. On my way out of town I stopped at the old Alexandra Bridge. I walked down the river a bit and took pictures of the beautiful stone piers left from the old bridge and set next to the new one.

The rest of my drive to Invercargill was quite uneventful. I drove through crazy rocky land. I think an entire cathedral could have been built out of the flat stones littering the paddocks . I drove through clouds so dark that I had to take my sunglasses off and was hit with heavy rain occasionally. However, when I arrived at Matt’s house the clouds were light and the rain had stopped. Matt is Dave’s brother, I had met him both times he was visiting the Coromandel peninsula. He was expecting me to arrive with my mom, but I told we just hadn’t had time. It would have been interesting to see mom partying with us – drinking home brew beer and liquor, watching the guys swear and wrestle, and having many laughs. Mom had a hard enough time understanding most of the Kiwis we met, but even I had a hard time understanding some of the people I was talking with. I got a lot of gruff about my American accent too! It was quite fun really.

Monday 9 March
Well, there’s not much to mention on this day. I slept nice and late, going back to sleep every time I woke to the sound of rain pounding on the roof. I had planned on visiting Bluff, south of Invercargill, but I really couldn’t be bothered driving anywhere. Michelle (Matt’s girlfriend) and I went for fish and chips for lunch – my big splurge of my trip so far. It’s been a lazy, boring day here – which has been quite nice really. Hey – I’ve managed to update this blog (and even edit it a little)!