Susan's Travel Sagas

11-28-2009
Woke to a rainy morning with fog so dense that I could not see the mountains. This seemed to portend that the helihike would be canceled. However, since I had been told the night before that no final decision would be made until the actual departure time, I dressed with three of the recommended five layers (five would have been too much to eat breakfast in) and joined Sandra and Hak. They suggested I call the company again and explain that if the helihike really was to be cancelled it would be pointless for me to drive there since would need to return to Okarito. So I did call and was told no guarantee it would be cancelled, but as I pressed for more information and explained my predicament, the woman I was speaking with spoke to the pilot who said most likely it would be canceled. I asked if that meant about 95% chance and she said “Yes.” So I canceled my reservation and told her I would stop by on my was through Fox Glacier.

I packed up after breakfast, took a picture of Sandra and Hak, and headed back to Okarito. There was my watch on the counter. I thanked Richard and told him to thank Sean who had found it. I quickly got back in the car to head back the way I had come and then go on to Fox Glacier. The 20 km drive, as it turns out, was not a quick one. There was a section of mountain twists and turns and some road construction as well. I guess I arrived there a little after 10 AM. I took care of the refund, got an Americano coffee to go (more expensive if it is to go because you have to pay for the paper cup?), and filled up with gas. Gas there was twenty cents a gallon more than anywhere else I had been ($1.86/liter), but I really had no choice since gas stations are few and far between. I left Fox Glacier around 10:30. It is a smaller town than Franz Josef, with just a couple of cafes, a few stores, and the activities headquarters. Once on the road and away from the glacier area (like within a half hour), the rain and mist and fog disappeared and the sky was blue and there was sunshine (all for the rest of the day.)

In retrospect, it was good that I had more time to do the drive. Had I done the helihike I would really have been pushing things. I stopped at Knight’s Point, the famous place to view the coast. Then I passed Bruce’s Bay, a place where the road was right next to the beach. I saw these interesting rock formations next to the road stretching the length of the beach, so stopped and looked. They were all made by people who had stacked rocks in different formations, some with driftwood, some with names and an inscription on a rock. There were even some formations on logs down on the beach. It was really interesting and very artistic. Then on to the next stop at Ship Creek. I did a walk for about twenty minutes that went through some rain forest area to overlook a lake with reeds growing in it and to see the beach and small sand dunes. There was another track that went away from the beach into the forest swamp, that I walked on for about five minutes. It ran parallel to a river going to the sea and had more of the rain forest flora, at least in that area.  Then back in the car and on to Haast, the next town and point where the road leaves the sea to climb over Haast Pass. I stopped there for something to eat and got a white bait sandwich which seemed to be a local favorite. The tiny fish, smaller than sardines, were breaded and fried and made into sort of a patty and then put between two pieces of bread. When I was inquiring to find out what a white bait burger was in the first place and  asked if you put any sauce, like tarter sauce, etc. on it, I was given the oddest look and told you can do it if you like, but… (that is not the way we do it here.)

From Haast, the road turned inland and paralled the Haast river and a glacial moraine. It steadily climbed. I stopped at recommended stops to see waterfalls and good views, with some occasional short walks from the car. Once over the pass, the road descended and paralleled a very large lake, Lake Hawea, south of Wanaka. In appearance it reminded me of the lake at Hoover Dam, The mountains are brown with not much vegetation, much more similar to southern California. The road then paralleled Lake Wanaka (which runs parallel to Lake Hawea) and went into the town of Wanaka. I had heard this was a nice place and a center for many activities. I drove through the center and found myself down by the lakefront. There were a few blocks of shops and cafes. I saw one that was an ice cream shop and given that it was sunny and clear and warm, this seemed like an ideal destination (double scoop of coffee and walnut and sort of a rocky road. Walked around a bit then back to the car to head over the Crown Mountain Range into Queenstown.

The mountains are brown without much vegetation as well. However, the views coming into Queestown are spectacular with a fairly steep descent down. I found Larch Hill bed and breakfast which is about 3 km away from the center on the side that I was coming into. What a lovely place. It is a home on a hill with a beautiful view of lake below and the mountains across (The Remarkables). The sky was blue and the view was breathtaking. Most of Queenstown is built on hills and it seems as if just about every building has some sort of amazing view.   I checked in. This was a very lovely home with some amazing carvings and masks (I was told from New Guinea), other nice pieces of art, many books. Leslie Matthews, the hostess, was in a long skirt and nice top, one of the first women in NZ I have seen dressed that way. She told me husband was away in Australia for a week; he is a lawyer.

I then went into town with some restaurant recommendations and ate at a small French restaurant, Salerno Vino, and had a very nice lamb dish. Turns out another couple there spotted me and said hello. I had met them on the water taxi in Abel Tasman -  from Minnesota. She was due to go home soon and her husband Russ was staying to fish. So we talked for a few minutes which was nice. After dinner I walked and looked at a few shops. The tourist oriented shops were all open and it was after 9:30 PM - very different than the rest of NZ. Then back to the B&B, caught up on  little e-mail, watched some TV and time for bed.