Lake Wanaka to Glacier Country

Tuesday 17th February 2009

Another bright and sunny start to the day and another day on the road.
Today we were headed for Franz Josef Glacier.

Thanks to some marvellous weather the journey, views and photo opportunities were great!

We followed the SH6 from Wanaka all the way to Franz Josef. The route took us in between the two lakes, Wanaka and the equally beautiful Lake Hawea. We then proceeded through the Mount Aspiring National Park.

Mount Aspiring NP is New Zealand’s third largest and enjoys World Heritage status. The scenery ranges from snow- and glacier-clad mountains to rugged rock faces, spectacular forested valleys and picturesque river flats.

At the Gates of Haast bridge, the Haast River roars down a steep-sided gorge strewn with boulders, we could not believe the size of the boulders and luckily, managed to get some pics.

After crossing the Haast Pass we stopped for a short diversion and walked down a forest track to Thunder Creek Falls - 30m falls which drop from a notch in a rock - spectacular (there’s that word again!).

Through Haast Village and on to Lake Paringa we stopped for a picnic lunch before continuing on along SH6 and eventually entering Westland National Park, home to Mount Cook (the highest mountain in New Zealand), Fox Glacier and Franz Josef.

Westland NP stretches from the top of the Southern Alps in the east, where it shares a common boundary with Mount Cook NP to the Tasman Sea in the west. This NP is renowned for its mountain peaks, dramatic glaciers, dense rainforest, coastal lagoons and beautiful lakes.

A winding and twisting mountain road brought us to Franz Josef, a small “village” a base really for tourists exploring the Franz Josef Glacier terminal face. The weather had deteriorated a little and low cloud and drizzle obscured our view of the glacier. We had hoped to visit the “mirror lake” (Lake Matheson), but the weather put paid to this plan!


After strolling through the village and doing a little shopping(!), we decided on an Indian takeaway for supper and so made our way back to our motel uncorked the red wine and settled down for a night in and an early night, in preparation for our walk to the glacier tomorrow!!

Lake Wanaka

Sunday 15th February 2009 & Monday 16th February 2009

After a sumptuous breakfast and some friendly conversation with the other guests at our B & B in Arrowtown, we hit the road again, this time headed for Lake Wanaka. Our journey took us high up on to the Crown Road with winding, narrow roads and fabulous views of Arrowtown and the surrounding landscape.

Wanaka located at the southern end of the lake, is one of the country’s favourite holiday spots. The beautiful sunny weather provided us with some great scenic views not to mention plenty of photo opportunities!

The willow-lined shores and bays of Lake Wanaka are popular for boating, fishing and water-skiing, while in winter skiers and snowboarders flock to the local ski areas.

Snow-capped peaks provide a beautiful lake setting and we had the good fortune to be staying in a super alpine cottage at Wanaka Homestead. (www.wanakahomestead.co.nz).

During our time at Wanaka we spent some time at the lake, admiring the view and walking the shoreline. We also took advantage of the luxurious accommodation to simply kick back and relax for a day or so before continuing our journey up West.

Te Anau to Arrowtown

On the road again this time moving on from Southland and in to the Central Otago region of South Island.

It was not long before we arrived at the shores of Lake Wakatipu. There is no mistaking the lake’s glacial origins. The steep, rugged slopes of the Remarkables drop down to the lake’s edge, leaving downtown Queenstown snuggled on one of the few pieces of relatively flat land in the area.

We also passed the much-photographed Lake Hayes en route to our ovenright stop.

Our destination was Arrowtown, 13 miles from Queenstown and nestled in the foot of rugged hills, Arrowtown is the most picturesque and best preserved gold-mining town in the area.

Following a pleasant 2-hr road journey we arrived in Arrowtown and promptly set out to explore - it didn’t take too long as it’s not a huge place! That is also part of its appeal to us anyway. The main street, partly lined with deciduous trees, has many old colonial shops and buildings at one end, and, at the other, tiny miners’ stone cottages dating back to the 1860s and 1870s.

After lunch we returned to Queenstown, home of the Skyline Gondola. As it was such a lovely sunny and clear day we thought it would be a great opportunity to take the gondola ride up to Bob’s Peak. It rises 450m in just 730m and provided us with breathtaking panoramic views of the Remarkables, Lake Wakatipu and Queenstown from the observation deck at the top. We also saw people par ascending, bunji jumping and taking the luge down to the bottom!
We spent a lovely couple of hours enjoying both the views and the fine, warm summer sunshine.

Returning to Arrowtown we made reservations for dinner at a local restaurant and after freshening up we took a loop-walk of about an hour by the River Arrow. This is where in Gold Rush times people would pan for gold nuggets (some of which we actually saw in the local shops - gold nuggets that is, not people from that time in history!!).



It was a pleasantly warm summer evening and just right for strolling along the riverbanks. Dinner was superb and we were able to sit outside in the restaurant’s gardens enjoying our meal and some local rose wine until the sun finally went down. A romantic and fitting end to Valentine’s Day! Just perfect.