Creative PennyG: Across the Ditch we Go

We arrived in Te Anau for a couple of nights and as expected the weather deteriorated somewhat. But it certainly didn't affect the magnificent scenery on the way there.

We had seen Milford Sound from a cruise ship on several occasions. Each time the weather was superb, and each time our onboard narrator told us how lucky we were. Now we understood why. From Te Anau we drove 75km towards Milford Sound and stopped at the starting point of the Milford Track. We couldn't take a photo as the weather was so bad, so it's just as well we'd seen it all before.

The following day we left for Queenstown, a very picturesque drive, and arrived around lunchtime. We stayed in a lovely B&B up on the hill overlooking both the town and the third largest lake in New Zealand, Lake Wakatipu.

That afternoon we wandered down into Queenstown and familiarised ourselves with what is a very bustling town with significant traffic problems. Fortunately, we could walk from the B&B - although it was quite the hike back up!

From the breakfast room at our B&B

We had a wonderful dinner at the original Queenstown Irish Pub Pog Mahone's. We looked up the name of the pub, thinking it might be that of a famous Irishman... however, Pog Mahone actually means 'Kiss My A..'!

Inside Pog Mahone's

Our very steep hike back from town!

On our first full day we drove to Arrowtown, just 20 minutes away. It was established in 1862 at the height of the Otago gold rush and grew quickly as pioneers constructed cottages, shops and hotels, etc., some sixty of which still stand today. We wandered down Buckingham Street, the main thoroughfare, called into the odd shop here and there, and had coffee.

We then walked along the Arrow River, where people still pan for gold, to the historic Chinese Settlement. Many of the workers came from the Australian goldfields, bringing their expertise with them, and the conditions were as one would expect. Originally there were market gardens, stores and some twenty cottages spread along the riverbank, but now only a few remain, giving us a good idea of what life was like back then.

Typical cottage

Ah Lum's Store

A visit to Queenstown is not complete without a cruise on Wakatipu Lake courtesy of the TSS Earnslaw, a vintage steamship (1912) that is the only coal fired steamship in the southern hemisphere. The weather was spectacular, as were the views.

On our last day in Queenstown we travelled back in time in the 'Time Tripper', a virtual reality piloted time machine that took us as far back as 90 million years ago, and then brought us back to the present through several time frames, including 65 million years ago and the extinction of the dinosaurs. Fascinating ride! The 'ride' is beneath the lake and is surrounded by glass, so we were also able to see the local ducks and long finned eels feeding.

On our way out of Queenstown we stopped for supplies and I went into a local convenience. This was the hand dryer, and a lot of hot air...

Then it was on to Franz Josef Glacier for a couple of nights. We followed the coast for some time and saw more amazing scenery, arriving mid-afternoon in the village.

Coffee along the way - note the saying above Jim's head!

Rain was forecast for the following day, so we immediately drove out to the glacier and did the 30-minute return walk from the carpark. There are some 2,900 glaciers across New Zealand, but Franz Josef and Fox are the only two accessible by foot without having to Heli-hike, alpine hike or dive.

In the early 20th Century, the glacier ever so slowly poured down the ridge and filled the valley; now it has retreated to the point that 3,000 metres away at the viewing platform, we could barely see it at the top. Worse still, cloud had descended and obscured our view. At least we saw something. Had we waited until the following day we would have seen nothing at all.

We did, however, see some rather wonderful creeks and waterfalls.

The next morning we drove to the Fox Glacier in the hopes of seeing it before the rain really took hold. It was overcast and drizzly, but when we arrived at the viewing point we discovered the carpark was closed, so that was that (probably because heavy rain was due). We did drive out to Gillespie's Beach, 22kms from the small village. The beach was covered with pebbles of all sizes and when wet they were some of the most beautiful we have seen.

In the afternoon we visited the wonderful West Coast Wildlife Centre a few minutes' walk from our motel. There we saw two of NZ's rarest Kiwis, the Rowi, as well as the very ancient Tuatara. There was also a very interesting exhibition on glaciation, and various films on wildlife.

One problem with travelling in September is that we miss the NRL finals series. Penny had sat up until all hours on Friday night listening to a semi-final between her Melbourne Storm and the Sydney Roosters - on the radio. On Saturday night we had a lovely dinner at a restaurant and bar called Monsoon (very fitting given the weather) and luckily, their TV screens showed the other semi-final between the NZ Warriors and the Newcastle Knights - which we watched with two other Australian families.

We left Franz Josef the next morning and headed north to Greymouth where we had a lovely lunch at the Speights Ale House, which we visited seven years ago - still great food and atmosphere. The sky was very overcast but we hadn't had much rain to that point.

We had been taking turns driving and Penny decided she would continue for perhaps another half an hour before Jim took over. Well, as we began our drive to Arthur's Pass, an illuminated sign alerted us to flooding in that area. The rain gradually increased, and parts of the road were indeed under water, not very deep, but enough to require us to slow down considerably so we could actually see where we were going especially when passing other vehicles. The waterfalls and the rapids were spectacular, all the way along, and as we neared Arthur's Pass it started to sleet and then hail. And, of course, we hadn't been able to change drivers as it was simply too wet to get out of the car! Fascinating drive.

The last time we did this trip we drove over the impressive Aqueduct Bridge and stopped at the lookout on the other side. The scenery was spectacular, and we were greeted at the lookout by a gorgeous Kea (alpine parrot). This time we drove over the bridge before we even realised it and passed the lookout with regret. And, of course, there was no opportunity for photos anywhere...

The Aqueduct Bridge (photo courtesy of the Internet)

Our accommodation for the night was the delightful Bealey Hotel,10kms east of the tiny Arthur's Pass township. The hotel was first opened in 1865 when patrons travelled for 36 hours from Christchurch to the west coast by horse-drawn coach. The hotel is also famous because in 1993 the proprietor reported sighting a moa, which had been believed to be extinct since 1550. Sounds a bit like Tassie Tiger sightings...

Our modern room offered fabulous views of the snow-capped mountains and the flooding plains, and we relaxed in the afternoon to the sounds of gale-force winds. We did have a lovely meal in the hotel's Crafty Moa Restaurant and Bar.

Then it was back to Christchurch for one last night before flying home. As it was Jim's turn to drive of course the weather was magnificent - sunshine and blue skies all the way... and even a rainbow.