Te Anau to Christchurch

Tuesday 2 January 2007 – After a quiet New Year we said our sad goodbyes to Iris and made our way to Te Anau via Balclutha and Gore which were very quiet given that it was another public holiday. Between Gore and Clinton we travelled along the Presidential Highway named when Clinton was the President of the USA and Gore was his Vice-President. As we moved west the weather gradually improved with the rain being left behind in the east. On arrival in Te Anau we were told that it had been dry for the past week but overcast. It certainly was much warmer with the promise of sunshine for the next couple of days.

That evening we ate at the Settlers where you choose your raw meat and watch while it is cooked. It is something we had only encountered once before and it was in this country in Wellington in 1998. It does ensure that you get a good piece of meat and is highly recommended as a concept.

The magic of Milford Sound

Wednesday 3 January 2007 – What an awesome day! The sun shone and it was hot but with a light cooling breeze. The scenery on the road to Milford from Te Anau is absolutely stunning as is that to be found when cruising on Milford Sound. We set off at 8am for a 12.25pm cruise on Milford Sound as we were informed that, although it is only 114kms, it would take 2 hours or more and there are many stops that can be made along the way and so it proved. There are plenty of toilets along the route but most of them are very basic chemical ones. The best, however, are at Knobs Flat which is over halfway as they are modern and well maintained, being also an information centre. Earlier we stopped at Mirror Lakes but the light breeze was moving the water so we did not see the mirror effect of the mountains in the background. Time on the journey has to be allowed for the Homer Tunnel which has been built through a mountain and at busy times traffic lights operate and the time between them is 15 Minutes! The tunnel is 1.2 kms long and the surface is rough so movement through it is slow. It does give you time when you are waiting to look at, and photograph, the superb mountain scenery. At the Milford end there was snow just below the road which was very odd given how hot it was!

The cruise was very enjoyable, not least because it was such a clear day that all the mountains, waterfalls, and the geology of the area could be seen in all its majesty. The highest mountain to be seen from the Sound is Mitre Peak but there are a number of smaller ones. The boat took us out to the edge of the Tasman Sea when we were told that if we kept going for about 5 days we would end up at Mount Melbourne in Antartica! On the way back we went close to some rocks to see seals basking in the sun and then on to Sterling Falls where the boat went in so close that we could feel the spray – exhilarating!

We had paid extra to go down into the Milford Deep Underwater Observatory located in Harrison Cove and the boat dropped us there and we got another boat back to Milford. The environment in the Sound makes the observatory unique in that it is possible to see all sorts of life forms as fresh water sits on top of seawater. This occurs as there is a very high rainfall in Fiordland and this runs off the mountains into the Sound. We were able to see rare examples of red and black coral, rare starfish that hangs upside down on the coral. The black coral looks white because of all the tiny organisms on it but if you take it out of the water it turns black. There were also many small fish seen but we were told that in the previous week there had been a dolphin there. It seems that at times it is possible just about any water creature that is to be found in the area. It was very interesting and recommended as an extra if you are taking the cruise.

Thursday 4 January 2007 – After the long day yesterday we stayed around Te Anau with just a short trip to Lake Manapouri where we had coffee in a converted church called Café 23. This was very good with nice cakes and good crockery – shame that the staff were so uncommunicative. This is not typical of the Kiwis, or the Aussies for that matter, that we have encountered on this trip. Manapouri is quiet but is charming with good scenery.

Friday 5 January 2007 – Time to move on yet again! Our final destination for the day was Wanaka but as we were passing so close to them we decided to drop into Queenstown for coffee and Arrowtown for lunch. You may have noticed by now that this is a recurring theme ie. Coffee, lunch and, of course, dinner! Queenstown, the self styled adventure capital of the world, has become even more commercialised since our last visit in 2002. We only stayed a short time and then went to Arrowtown and this has also become very touristy and has lost a little of its charm as a result. Having said that, there are still the old buildings remaining from the gold rush days and is well worth a visit.

We took the route over the Crown Range which includes Coronet Peak on down the other side through Cardrona to Wanaka. The drive up is quite hairy for the first part as you are right near the edge but the backward views you have are wonderful and very dramatic. Elizabeth enjoyed them more than me – I was concentrating too much to ensure that we stayed on the road. Near the top I did have an opportunity to look back from a viewing point. It was then a very easy drop down to Wanaka. This is an alternative route which is worth taking as it saves about 20 minutes and the views are certainly more dramatic.

We found our accommodation at Renmore House in Wanaka and met our hostess, Rosie, who made us very welcome and provided us with a pot of tea in the lovely garden next to a fast running brook – it was delightful. Rosie joined us for the tea and we had a good chat. It is the first time that this had happened to us on the trip but we had not previously stayed in a B & B. She recommended a restaurant for us and even rang them to reserve a table – excellent service.

Saturday 6 January 2007- At breakfast we met Blair who grew up in Macandrew Bay on the Otago Peninsula, where Iris lives and he thought his parents may know her – further evidence of how small the world is getting. They spent 9 months in the UK in the mid 1970s so there was much to talk about on our respective countries. Interestingly, they had recently made a brief trip to London and commented on how much cleaner it is these days!We were joined at breakfast by another couple from the UK and a young couple from India and we all sat around one large table in Rosie and Blair’s kitchen. Among the delights were a very good fresh fruit salad in a beautiful cut glass bowl and Rosie’s home mad bread. It was all very enjoyable.

We set off shortly after nine and had gone about 25kms when we ended up on an unsealed track before I realised that we were going the wrong way. I had made an assumption based on a logic that was all wrong – the first time it had occurred on the trip. We returned to Wanaka, having lost about an hour. Never mind, we had seen some scenery that we would have missed otherwise. As we made our way through the attractive Haast Pass the forecasted drizzle turned to consistent heavy rain and continued until well into the night.

We got to Franz Josef mid afternoon and went straight to our motel which had great alpine views if only we could see them through the rain! The room again was very comfortable and we spent some time reading or watching cricket. New Zealand was playing Sri Lanka in a one day match in Auckland where it was fine. New Zealand lost the match, scoring its second lowest score. Some similarity here to England in Australia! Now that England has lost the Ashes to a 5-0 whitewash they move on to a tri-nation tournament that includes New Zealand. It will be interesting to see who is the worse – England or New Zealand as I cannot see Australia losing that series either. We did venture out for a while to go to the very good visitors’ centre we learned a lot about the geology of the area and in particular the weather. There was a chart comparing the rainfall here with major cities around the world and it is about 4 times more than London. Mind you, I thought it would have been a more realistic comparison if they had taken Manchester!

That evening we braved the heavy rain to go to the Alice May Bar and Café where it was absolutely heaving and we had to wait for a table. However, we got one earlier than forecast in a system that was very well handled by the manager. I had venison stew and Elizabeth had lamb shanks – both dishes were excellent.

Sunday 7 January 2007 – We woke to a clear blue sky and the promised alpine views. We were here to look at the glacier so set off to do that shortly after nine and found that most of the rest of the world had done so as well! It was clear that the weather of the day before had also prevented others from venturing out. There was a safety restriction on how close we could get but we still got an excellent view of it. We had seen it previously from the air in 1998 and had taken a helicopter ride in 2002 when we landed on the top of the nearby Fox Glacier so we did not feel moved to get any closer on this occasion. As someone said, once you have seen one glacier you have seen them all. Blasé though this sounds there is an element of truth in the statement.

We spent much of the rest of the day making our way north to our final destination, Greymouth, on the west coast. We stopped for lunch and explored Hokitika, a small town with a population of about 3,500 and known as an arts area. This is chiefly centre on pounamu, otherwise known as greenstone, NZ Jade or nephrite. The Maori used it for weapons and so for personal ornaments and it is for the latter use that it is known to day. Hokitika has a jade factory and there are many shops selling it.

The beach by the Tasman Sea is accessed from the main street in the town and the sand is dark, called black but not quite that colour. There was a lot of driftwood on it and we learned that they have a driftwood and sand beach sculpture festival later this month. It should not be difficult as many of the driftwood already look like sculptures!

Greymouth advertises itself as being full of colour but our view of it is that it is grey! However, we did find a number of murals on walls, the best being on the side of the local evening newspaper which outlines the history of the area. The town is also know as the terminus for the Tranz Alpine train service that runs over Arthur’s Pass to Christchurch – voted the second best scenic rail journey in the world. We will be driving over the Pass tomorrow and it is just as spectacular doing it in that manner.

Dinner was at the Steamboat Café which was very basic but, as not much was open on a Sunday night, it was packed out and it closed at 8pm! We were invited by a couple from Australia to join them and we had a good long chat. It quickly became clear from his accent that Dave came from London. When he visits England he is asked where in Oz he is from but I could hear the London in him. It quickly came to light that his mother lives in Ipswich and he knows many of our Suffolk haunts as he and his wife visit often – another example of the small world!

Monday 8 January 2007 – Another damp start to the day as we left the west coast to travel east where we knew that there was better weather. However, we had to travel over 100kms before we found the sun and in the process missed some stunning scenery in the Otira Gorge. There is a viaduct only completed in 1999 and we stopped at a viewing point to have a look down on it after having driven over it but could not se it for very low cloud. A consolation was that two Kea birds landed by the car and we spent some time photographing them and trying to get them to fly so that we could see the colourful wings. They were so comfortable with people that we could not get them to fly off!

We stopped at Jackson for coffee and wished we had kept going as the proprietor was unkempt, monosyllabic and took a long time to serve us. Another customer was heard to say that the room rate was only 50 dollars a night but he did not think he would be staying.

The journey through Arthur’s Pass was a delight with bright sunshine which highlighted the many colours of the mountains and hills along with the foliage. Lupins, which we had also seen on the Milford Road and the Crown Range, were in profusion providing a carpet of purple, yellow and pink. Lunch was taken in Springfield in a combined general store and café – something we have come across often as they serve the local populace as well as visitors. By now we were on the Canterbury Plains where many crops are grown and it is very flat in comparison with the west coast and Southern Alps. From there we travelled on to Christchurch, our last destination on the South Island.