In March, after six months away from family, settling into home and the routine of life in New Zealand, my mum came to visit us from the UK. I was SO excited to see her, we had a tearful reunion at the airport and then headed back to our house for that all important cup of Yorkshire Tea and a post-30-hours-of-travel nap for mum.
I thought that my mum's visit was the perfect opportunity to take some time off work and get out on the road again around the South Island, to show her some of my favourite sights and also explore some new places together.
First stop: Tekapo.
Tekapo has been one of our favourite spots since our first trip to New Zealand. We turned up on Christmas eve 2016 to our accommodation, only to be told that our booking had been cancelled as the agent we'd booked through had gone into administration. We were pretty distraught, but were lucky enough to find an even better motel, right on the lakefront. We spent Christmas barbecue-ing at the lake, dipping our feet in, watching the stars. We've never forgotten that magical feeling that we associate with Tekapo.
It was just as special this time, taking mum to visit this gorgeous piece of New Zealand landscape. The lake is a glorious turquoise blue - a result of the surrounding glaciers, and the rock flour that makes its way into the water. In contrast to the yellow scrub of the mountains, it makes for a very dramatic landscape.
Apart from its lake, Tekapo is probably most famous for the curious little church - the Church of the Good Shepard - that sits on the lakefront. It is a tiny stone church nestled in among the mountains and in Spring surrounded by lupins, that attracts around 600,000 visitors each year. The number of tourists is staggering, and when we were last here in 2016, people were at the church day and night (and I mean, middle of the night.. we came back from a stargazing tour at 3am and there were people camped out waiting for sunrise) taking photos, even having wedding photos taken! But this year, the local council has erected a fence around it to help protect the surrounding nature and to limit the number of tourists, protect worship times and close the site at night. I think this is forced responsible tourism at its best, and completely agree with what's been done. It's more important to protect these sites than to allow an unlimited number of tourists access at all times of day.
On our way to our accommodation at Lake Ruataniwha, we drove up to Mount John's Observatory. There is a fee to drive up the road, which contributes to the maintenance of the route, but it is worth it for the incredible views of Tekapo from the top.
If you are staying a couple of nights in Tekapo, I highly recommend taking a tour with Earth & Sky. On our first visit in 2016, we did the two-hour night sky tour on Christmas morning. This is a great opportunity to get a tour of the night sky, using the powerful telescopes up at the observatory. Trust me, it is worth every penny; this is quite possibly one of my favourite things I have ever done in New Zealand. And if you come from the northern hemisphere, it is fascinating to see how the constellations are different down here! Just remember that even in summer, it is freeeeezing standing outside for two hours in the middle of the night. Wrap up WARM!
On day two, we drove to Mount Cook village. The drive down highway 80, alongside Lake Pukaki and then into the mountains is simply stunning, even when there is too much cloud to see Mount Cook itself. Every turn of the road in McKenzie country feels like it could be straight out of Lord of the Rings. I mean seriously... how is this even real?!
We walked along some of the famous Hooker Valley Track, across the swing bridges and tried to get a sneaky view of Mount Cook, but unfortunately the clouds were having too much fun playing hide and seek with the summit. The Hooker Valley Track is a great day walk (3 hour return), or even just an afternoon, with well-maintained paths, photograph-worthy swing bridges and no real ascent.
On our way back out from Mount Cook Village, we stopped to see the Tasman Glacier. The walk is short, but steep, with lots of steps but one hell of a view. The Tasman is New Zealand's longest glacier, but like all of the glaciers in the region, it is slowly receding. It was really interesting to see it compared to our last visit in 2016, and how different it looked. We felt that the glacier had receded even before we dug out some of our photos from the last trip to compare... it is quite sad to see how quickly the glaciers are melting, because of global warming. In fact, the Tasman Glacier is melting so rapidly that scientists say it will eventually disappear.
After a day of exploring, what better way to relax than sunset at the lake next to our accommodation? Lake Ruatinawha is a short drive from Lakes Tekapo and Pukaki, but much quieter and less touristy - a great place to stay. We stayed in a basic tourist cabin at Lake Ruatinawha Holiday Park, right next to this gorgeous sunset view. And because we were off the beaten track, we had this sunset all to ourselves.
Day three of our road trip saw us heading further south towards Queenstown, but not before a quick trip back to the top of Lake Pukaki for some amazing views of Mount Cook. The cloud had finally cleared and we could see the summit clear as day across the deep turquoise lake.
The drive from Tekapo to Queenstown takes you through McKenzie region down into Otago, and past some great locations as you get closer to Queenstown. We stopped at the famous AJ Hackett bungee for lunch, watching adrenaline junkies throw themselves off the renowned bridge. The river these people are throwing themselves at is the Kawarau river, made famous by Lord of the Rings as it depicted the great River Anduin and the Argonath. I mean if I were ever to be persuaded to do a bungy jump, I would have to do it here just so I could say that I'd thrown myself into the River Anduin (geek alert).
I have visited Queenstown a few times before, and will never get bored of the sheer beauty of this town. Although it can get very busy with tourists, particularly in high season, I would still recommend Queenstown to everyone who comes to New Zealand. It is simply stunning, and quite possibly the most beautiful town on the South Island (or maybe even in New Zealand). Sat on Lake Wakitipu and nestled below the Remarkables, I think it must be impossible to take a bad photo of the view here. Our first evening in Queenstown, we simply sat at the waterfront, eating ice cream and drinking in the view.
We stayed a little out of town at the Top10 Holiday Park, which is at Arthur's Point, and serves as a great starting point for exploring Queenstown and the surrounding area. We spent our second day here exploring Arrowtown (another must-visit for LOTR fans - the Ford of Bruinen was filmed here!). Even if you're not a fan of LOTR, Arrowtown is a fascinating place to visit. It was once a gold mining town, and it certainly has an 'American Western' feel to the buildings on the high street. The Gold Rush here brought in migrant workers from Asia, and the Chinese Village at the end of Arrowtown High Street is a must-do. Make sure to cover up near the water though, as those pesky sandflies will seek out bare skin from 100 paces.
At Queenstown, we said goodbye to D, who flew back home to Christchurch, and mum and I carried on the road trip towards the West Coast. Despite the rain, we pushed on with our plan to drive through the Crown Range Pass for a view back across Queenstown on our way to Wanaka - this is one of my favourite short drives in the South Island. The Cardrona Valley Road winds its way up the hill behind Queenstown - it's probably not for the faint hearted (or those who get carsick easily!!) and, being the highest main road in New Zealand, is not to be taken lightly in winter. But on a clear day, the view is just stunning. No wonder people take the time to drive to Wanaka by this route, rather than the simpler highways.
Even through the rain, this place is magical. Standing on the edge of the hill, looking out across the mountains, with a beautiful rainbow across the sky... you really can't beat it.
Back on the road, our last stop of the day was the Cardrona Hotel for a warming ginger beer. This hotel and restaurant is one of the oldest in New Zealand, and, when the weather's good, you can't beat a nice cold drink outside in their beer garden.
On through the epic scenery of the Crown Range, and we came to our final stop of the day: a cute AirBnB room with the most fabulous hosts - Ann and her dog Molly. To avoid the busy (and often expensive) centre of Wanaka, we stayed just the other side, in a place called Lake Hawea, and this had us perfectly situated for getting out to the Haast Pass and the West Coast on day five.
Our South Island adventure will be continued in Part Two...
コメント