It’s been a few weeks since our last post as we’ve been exploring some of the most remote parts of the country with next to no signal and even less WiFi. It’s been nice to switch off from the outside world for a while but jobs for the ski season have started to be posted so we’ve had to prioritise applying to those with the little access to WiFi we’ve had over updating you, our avid readers.
After saying goodbye to Nathan’s parents we headed into Christchurch. We had an awesome couple of days exploring the city, with its beautiful river and English-inspired architecture. We learnt how 80% of the city centre had to be rebuilt after the 2011 earthquake and the transformation the city has undergone since. Our highlight was the new riverside market home to craft breweries, artisan grocery shops and stalls selling every cuisine imaginable, which it seemed all of the office workers descended on come lunchtime. We also visited a few museums including Quake city which documents the events, emergency response and aftermath of the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. The exhibits also included an area with LEGO to ‘build your own earthquake-proof house’, which for two 25 year olds we spent far too long building - you can judge who’s was better below (Nathan left, Josie right).
We also visited some of the older sites including an art exhibition in the old university buildings, Christ’s college and the botanic gardens which were in full bloom. The standouts were the roses and dahlias set against a backdrop of native New Zealand ferns and a meandering river with punting and kayaking. There was still plenty of construction happening all over the city as they repair historic buildings and rebuild a more earthquake resilient city, but the city felt very welcoming, had a cool summer vibe and some very good beer which gives it a big thumbs up from us.
After Christchurch we headed over the infamous Arthur’s Pass, a remote highway bisecting the South Island as it traverses over the Southern Alps. We aimed to complete the journey in one day as there were very few places to camp given the remoteness of the road. Starting early we headed west and made our first stop of the day at Castle Hill, a hill (shock) with rocky tors not dissimilar to Dartmoor but made of limestone as opposed to granite. This gave us the chance to do a bit of rock climbing and look out over the Southern Alps and the road to come. We continued to weave our way through the mountains until we reached Arthur’s Pass Village, a little remote town high up in the mountains at the saddle of the drive. We stopped at the cafe, which had the vibe of an alpine ski lodge, and enjoyed watching the Kea (NZ alpine parrot) attempt to steal people’s food and possessions. These curious, thieving birds are quite the local celebrities and have been known to steal all manner of valuables from campers.
After a short walk up to Devil’s Punchbowl waterfall, we carried on our journey, descending down through the valley and over the Otira viaduct - an impressive feat of engineering. We stopped at multiple points to take in the views of the mountains towering high above us and the Otira river cascading below. After another few hours on the road we made it to Greymouth, the end of the highway and our stopover point for the night.
Heading south from Greymouth, we joined the ‘Glacier Highway’, which runs down the west coast of the South Island past some gorgeous rugged coastline, dense rainforest and as the name suggests, glaciers! However, in typical West Coast fashion, the weather closed in on us overnight and made for a wet and windy next few days as we travelled down it. We enjoyed stopping at the town of Hokitika to search for Pounami/NZ greenstone on the beach and camped by some of the west coast lakes which had stunning mountain views (or so they told us - it was cloudy).
Eventually we made it down to Franz Josef. Despite the wet and windy weather, the clouds parted for just long enough for us to catch a glimpse of the Franz Josef Glacier, which only made us want to get a better view. We hung around Franz Josef town for the next couple of days, waiting for a weather window to do the ‘Alex Knob Summit Track’, a 19 km hike up a mountain that gives spectacular views over the glacier. Whilst hanging around we managed to get down to Fox Glacier, a town an hour down the coast with another glacier and views of the tallest NZ mountains including Aoraki and Mt Tasman. The weather window arrived 2 days later and we went for it up Alex Knob. After ascending 1303m we were treated to glorious sunshine and the chance to see the glacier in all its glory. It really was spectacular.
After completing the rest of the Glacier Highway down to Haas, we headed over Haas Pass to Wānaka, where we were treated to civilisation, some lovely coffee shops and WiFi. Here we spent a day or so applying to the aforementioned ski jobs whilst enjoying the sun by Lake Wānaka. We also perused the local craft market and stumbled upon a great ski shop, which only got us more excited for the upcoming season.
From Wānaka we headed south over the Crown Ranges towards Queenstown. We spent the night at a freedom camp at the summit viewpoint, which had an amazing view down the valley to Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu but to no one’s surprise was incredibly cold and windy. We woke up to thick fog and were keen to get down the mountain to warm up, so it was only once we were down in Queenstown that we were able to see that snow had fallen on the mountain tops overnight! It made for a beautiful sight and may or may not be what inspired Josie to buy a new puffer coat that morning.
All in all we can feel the ski season getting closer, even if it’s still a few months away yet. We’re keen to make it to the southern tip of New Zealand at Bluff then make our way back to the mountains to find a place for the season.
No comments:
Post a Comment