Q Town baby!

‘ARE YOU READY FOR A BIG NIGHT OUT?’

‘YEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS’

Welcome to Queenstown.

In an underground bar with a old generator fan acting as a very odd focal point for the bar, Ollie and I stood and laughed with the two guys we would be spending the night with. Hopefully not in the way that might have just sounded. We had met Ross and Frankie earlier that day. They were sharing the same room as us in the hostel. Then as we chatted about Ollie and I being young and yet very married, I felt like I’d known them longer than only a few hours.  And that’s one of the best parts to traveling. Meeting people!

Our leader for the evening was ‘Benny’. A Jack Black lookalike who had a voice that was much larger than him. We followed this guy as we moved from bar to bar, constantly yelling his name in a loutish fashion that I’m sure must have annoyed him after the first twenty times. The free shot (although I have a feeling it was more likely actual tar than anything alcoholic) was only a bonus because of the face Ollie pulled as he downed them.  Scared rabbit mixed with a crying infant that has lost its dummy. But as the notes slipped from the wallet the night descended into a wonderful chaos that both Ollie and I had been looking forward to. The perfect way to begin his birthday weekend!

I had never been to an ice bar before. I don’t really want to ever to go one again. It was fun, just not worth the apparent $30pp entry fee. Luckily we didn’t have to pay that as we were on a bar crawl waaaaaaayyyyy (Sorry, I feel the need to do that every time someone says bar crawl...waaaayyyy!) and so we enjoyed, if one can enjoy being frozen whilst trying to sip a cocktail, the bar for the novelty it was. After all everything and I mean everything is made from ice so I guess that’s kinda cool. Unless you’re an Inuit and often build ice structures. Then I suppose it would just appear unnecessary, impractical and another foolish pursuit of non snow dwelling people. And then after being aghast at the foolishness of it all those Inuits would bring up their favourite groan of how everyone calls them Eskimos and how damn rude that is.

Back to the story. This is the part where I made a very rookie error. I did not place my drink on a designated coaster. Now in someone’s house this would merely be perceived as rude. But in an ice bar, it leads to your drink slipping at unstoppable pace from the table and spilling over the floor. Fortunately I found this hilarious and it didn’t matter because it had been my free drink, which was more cranberry juice than any actual alcohol but I expected nothing less. So I purchased a ‘real’ cocktail and even paid an extra two bucks to have it served in a glass made of ice. Wow. I know!

You had to wear gloves to bare holding the glass and after trying to stand casually whilst I sipped my drink and trying not to let my tongue get stuck to the ice, I put it down to grab the camera. Oh Amy. Once again I completely failed to make use of one of the conveniently placed coasters and my $10 drink went careering off the ice table so that the first I knew of what had happened was when the glass smashed on my feet. Again I did nothing but bend over in fits of laughter and after realising I wasn’t annoyed and it was safe to laugh, so did the lads! I had been enjoying my ‘mildly cold sunset penguin’ or whatever ridiculously named cocktail I’d had so I went and ordered another one. And thanks to my sad eyes and a few helpful sound bites from the guys, I managed to get my cocktail...for a whole....$2 less. A bit harsh I reckon! We had been striving for a free one! 

After the adventures of the ice bar (a lot can happen in forty minutes) and having my picture taken with an oversized stuffed Penguin, we moved on to other warmer bars. There was a band playing in one and I tried to form a mosh pit in the middle of our crowd. In hindsight it probably wasn’t the type of music you could mosh to. I think I get an award for trying though, my attempt during ‘Down Under’ was almost a success...

And so our marvelously fun night ended outside Ferg Burger in deep conversation with an Australian that didn’t mind me talking about his ‘bum chin’ and asking about shrimps and barbies. Apparently he was a milder form of Aussie than I have become accustomed to. He took my sense of humour rather well. I think we all got into a conversation about mining, Ollie’s geology degree and money but I had kind of drifted off into my bag of breaded onion rings by that point. But the most important part of our time outside Ferg Burger was Ollie and I discovering it for the first time. I think they literally make the best take away burgers in the world and I welcome that statement with challenges! I have never seen such fresh, big and packed burgers in all my life! Ollie could barely finish his which, if you know him well, is a pretty impressive achievement for a burger! They even do great vegetarian ones too which is always a bonus as many restaurants and take aways in New Zealand simply refuse to believe that non meat eaters even exist!

Tucked up in bed we managed to wake up the other people in our room with our ‘whispers’. Although I won’t lie, I wasn’t trying very hard to whisper. One guy did say he was enjoying our joke telling though so it’s nice to know we were appreciated. Ollie set our alarm. We had to be up in three hours.

* * * *

I sat up and the room finally came to halt. My mouth was the bottom of a rabbit hutch. All I could think was that I know better than to ever touch ‘free’ alcohol. It does nothing but make you feel horrific. I hadn’t even had that much to drink but when you’re trying to stick to what’s on offer and what’s on offer is one of your worst enemies that you would never normally touch (vodka mehhh) then feeling good in the morning is never going to be the outcome. Pulling on my clothes and hastily stuffing things into a bag, Ollie and I made it downstairs to check out. We said goodbye to our new friends, who incidentally looked as bad as us, and set off on our half mile walk to the van. If nothing else, that walk in the cold air smacked some life back into us. Oh and so did the litre of orange juice we shared in a gulp!

This was day two of ‘Ollie’s big birthday weekend’ and the day that we were going skiing. Perhaps our mindset could have been slightly better prepared but no amount of hangover could stop our impending excitement. 

We were going up to the ski field in The Remarkables as not only are those mountains closet to Queenstown but they also have a quieter beginners area that we thought might be quite appropriate for us. A coach took us up the mountain on a forty minute drive that literally went ‘all round the mountain’. I don’t get motion sickness normally but my life did I feel absolutely hideous on that bus journey. Every part of my being shone green as I held my teeth as tightly together as I could, keeping my head firmly facing forwards and praying I wouldn’t throw up on the person opposite me. I don’t like going up windy mountain roads any time, so feeling a little sore from the night before as well just escalated my ordeal by one hundred times! There is nothing pleasant about being thousands of feet high on a road with no barrier in a coach that is as wide as the gravel. It’s the ‘Italian Job’ waiting to happen. I’ve always though so, every time I am in that situation. I can just about manage being in our van on those mountain roads but even then I get petrified. So yeah, not the most magical start to our skiing adventure!

But then we reached the top. Off the bus I instantly felt better and jumped on the magic carpet (not nearly as magic as it sounds, just a travalator in the snow) to go and collect our gear. Having pre ordered our skis and boots for hire we were able to go straight into the main building and pick them up without having to queue. And not having to queue is always a bonus! We got fitted and a very lovely girl got me into my boots. Ollie managed alright on his own but I am Amy. Next we were given our skis and then left to get on with it! After seeking advice the day before about what ability level we should be in (and finding out that ability level was a total 0 and we were in the mega beginners bracket) we had booked ourselves in for two lessons with the complete novice instructor. I think Ollie and I had secretly hoped we could skip that level and move on to something less ‘uncool’ but we soon learned that with skiing, there is no ‘skipping’ when you’ve never even touched a set of skis before, let alone got on them!

So with an hour to wait before our first lesson we went and found a coffee. In doing this we made it obvious to everyone within a fifty meter radius fully aware of just how ‘fresh’ we were to skiing as we carried our skis up a long flight of stairs into the cafe area with us. Apparently you were supposed to leave them outside in the ‘designated area’ but we hadn’t known this! Glad to be back outside we waited by the ‘Level 1’ (at least it wasn’t called Level 0) sign for our group to assemble. During this time Ollie and I were unable to wait and so put on our skis and went for a slide which consisted of shuffling about thirty centimeters in one direction, having massive difficulty trying to turn around and in doing so knocking other people and shuffling back again. And this was all on a flat surface.

Eventually a guy in a red jacket showed up and started ordering us all about so we guessed he must have been one of the instructors. He immediately told us we should be holding our skis, not wearing them, and there was a particularly awkward moment where Ollie and I realised we were the only ones who had ours on and had to take them off in front of the others in our group like two naughty kids. It was even worse for me because I couldn’t make mine unclip and so with a helpless mumble of ‘I’ve never taken a pair of skis off before’, the guy had to do it for me. Not a great start.

A girl glided effortlessly across and said hi. She was to be the ‘beginners’ instructor. Leading us all down a fairly steep slope, us all clambering and sliding behind her in our boots looking like the kind of people who are new at something and who’d I’d chuckle at if I was a lot better, she finally got us all in a semi circle at the bottom of the gentlest ski slope I’ve ever seen. On a side note, if you’ve never tried to walk in a pair of ski boots I suggest you try for a laugh. It has to be the most annoying and tiring form of walking known to man! Anyway. After a few preliminary exercises of practicing moving in a circle with just one ski on and then swapping to the other foot (unfortunately I didn’t practice with my other foot as I got confused with what we were doing and had got separated from Ollie so couldn’t ask him what I had missed the girl saying because I was watching with glee as a parent fell over on his child, who was fine) we got down to the less humiliating and far more interesting stuff. Actually trying to ski! 

First off we learned to stop. Or rather everyone else learned to stop and I learned to slow down a bit. The girl tried hard to teach me but I suppose in order to stop fully you have to want to and deep down I just wasn’t convicted enough as really I wanted to keep going because it was fun. But after a few runs down the slope, well pretend slope, I could do a pretty good impression of a skier who was coming to a hault. That mastered we moved on to turning and the bigger slope. This area was far more fun and you could actually build up a bit of speed. However it wasn’t until the next day when Ollie and I were discussing what we had learned from the lessons that I found out the whole purpose of the girls teaching had been about slowing down and gaining total control over the skis. And there was me thinking we were learning how to stay safe whilst getting to the bottom as fast as possible. Not quite sure how I missed the correct information there.

By the end of the first lesson we were loving the whole ‘skiing thing’ and stayed on the slope to practice for a bit longer. After a short rest we got back out there to enjoy our freedom before the afternoon session. Feeling over confident as we approached the slope down to the starter area I watch as Ollie skied very under control and on balance down the slope and slalomed his way through the practice posts. I followed and did so in the most out of control, speediest and reckless way one could ever imagine, roaring my way to the end of the snow trying desperately to ‘make a wedge’ and stop myself. It’s a miracle no children were lost in the run! Speaking of children. it was insane how good some of the little kids on the mountain were. Children about five years old were coming down the real slopes, utterly fearless, and others who were still learning glided about without poles making their ‘pizzas’ like miniature pros! It was enough to bring back my sickness from the morning I tell you!

The afternoon session began with a recap and me saying hi to people I had smacked into and run down a few hours previously. Most of the group had forgiven me though I think. Or they were just too polite not to smile. Our instructor got us to do some jumping, get better a turning (or try to) and to improve our stance. I was concentrating so hard that the time flew past and soon it was time to say thank you and goodbye. She told us that we had been the best Level 1 group she’d ever had and that we were far beyond where first timers usually are. We even got told we could skip straight to level 3 next time and maybe even get a go on the proper ski fields. Well. I say we, she was looking at Ollie and certainly not me. He was a little disappointed in me but I did try my best. So after she left us Ollie got me back up to the steepest entrance slope and began to put me through his rigorous ‘get better quick Amy so we can do more next time’ regime. 

But I was still out of control. And why he was surprised about that I don’t know. I am always out of control in general. There was even one horrific point were I got a third of the way down the slope, panicked because there were people I was going to hit and decided the best course of action would be to just fall smack onto my bum. This turned out not to be the correct thing to do because I then got totally stuck and couldn’t get back. A very nice older gentleman from our group came sliding to my aid and eventually got me back on my feet. He had been watching me with some amusement from the safety of the flat area. In the end I had to tell Ollie I had had enough for one day and that we had to give the skis back. The place was also closing and the snow had turned to ice so it was a good time to drag Ollie away from his new found love. My thighs were sore from falling over three times too. I wish I had had three spectacular falls but two had been while I was literally standing still.

Back in our trainers we felt very odd to be walking with such ease and after selecting a photograph taken by the official photographer that summed up our day (it was me crashing into Ollie) we caught the coach back down. It had been an awesome day up the mountain and a perfect introduction to our new hobby. And it will be our hobby. Ollie has insisted. 

* * * *

We checked into our little hotel on a hill overlooking Queenstown and dragged our ski battered bodies to our room. As I sunk into a boiling hot bath I was very glad we had decided to add the hotel to Ollie’s birthday weekend. We had a great annex room at the top of the building that had beams running through it and a spectacular view overlooking the town and Lake Wakatipu. It was nice to be able to stand up straight in more than a square meter of space and to have a real bed to sleep in. It was also very wonderful to put fresh clothes on that weren’t intended for a mountain walk. 

Ollie and I picked a tiny restaurant called ‘Les Alpes’ to have dinner in and if anyone is ever in Q Town then I would definitely recommend eating there, the food was immense! The owners and waiting staff were all french and the atmosphere was very cosy. The service was impeccable which I very much appreciated as to me it is as important as the food! We were both in the mood for rich food and that is exactly what we got. Everything was so yummy! As we were in France we had a French wine which was as heavy as I had hoped for and sent me into a lovely warm cosy place. By the time we had finished our meal it was late. Back in the cold we walked back to our hotel. The best way to end our day and celebrate Oliver’s quarter of a century.

Sunday morning we woke late having missed the alarm that didn’t go off because I didn’t set it right and ran down to catch the end of breakfast. We had planned to leave Queenstown and head down to Te Anau but unable to tear ourselves away from our new favourite mountain town we stayed another day. We visited an underwater viewing place where we watched fish, eels and diving ducks messing about in the lake, we cleared our heads of the wine with coffee and walked around the very lovely town. And then as one last ‘birthday treat’ we went and watched ‘The Dark Knight Rises’. Even though it was a tiny cinema and the screen was far from great, we still though the film was immense (all three hours of it!), and as with all super movies, couldn’t stop talking about it four hours afterwards. As it was getting dark we pulled out of Queenstown. Trying not to look behind us and wish we were staying longer, we said goodbye and began our journey south.

31/7/12

Amy needs to calm down about those mountains...

Yesterday we spent the day in Wanaka. Walking, exploring and chilling out to the backdrop of a stunning lake and snowy peaks. We took a path along the edge of the lake and got lost in conversation and scenery for over an hour before we realised we hadn’t been looking where we were going and for a moment couldn’t remember how we had reached that point. Luckily the way back was straight forward enough and soon we were back in the little town. After lunch we wondered around the few roads and looked in on a few shops selling intriguing bits of nothing and sniffed outside the bakeries. Ollie saw a poster advertising ‘Cornish Pasties’ (immediately irked that they had spelled ‘pasty’ pastie) and feeling that a mildly illegal business could be taking place he went in to try and buy one. To his surprise the bakers had ‘sold out’ and he was more than a little miffed that not only were pastys being sold in Otago but that they were apparently very popular too!

Sitting outside a little coffee shop that make the most delicious carrot cake (we tried not to let the nice food make us buy it) we watched the clouds finally disappear for the day and I got all fascinated by some little cheeky birds trying to steal the leftovers of a lunch at a table nearby. There were guard birds, rival birds, a planning committee and the two that were led by them in order to retrieve the large crust that had ben left behind. It was hilarious. And the bread was far to heavy for them to carry away. So in the end it turned into a mass fight for ‘a go’ at eating until a few birds formed a break away group and came over to our table to eat our crumbs. Naturally I obliged and made sure they got them.

Ollie was in need of ‘a pint Am’ so we found a very good looking Ale House and ordered a couple. Monteith’s Brewary make excellent beer and cider and have they’re brewery in Greymouth so all the pubs around here have them on tap. Apparently no one makes ale like they do in Cornwall, according to Ollie, but he still looked to be enjoying his anyway! Their cider is my favourite and after not having any in a while I was pretty thirsty! It was a good bar and our table looked straight out onto the lake and snow above. We must have spent a few hours in there chatting, laughing and reminiscing on the things we missed back home. My pint and half must have got to me a bit though because at one point I started to get a bit emotional over 20p’s! But most of all we talked of the people we missed and who we wished could be here to experience the ore of where we are. 

I mentioned in a previous blog about the scenery being able to bring me to tears and as we see more of this country it only gets harder to hold them back. Looking around everyday is to see an endless expanse of perfection that intensifies the longer you’re in it until it is painful. Like staring at the sun. It hurts so much you want to look away and yet you find yourself constantly trying to see more. What I have seen physically makes my heart ache. For me, the South Island is an extremely emotive place that twists itself into you so that after it, things will never be quite the same. A place has never done that to me before and I find it a bit unnerving. But irresistible nonetheless. 

* * *

After a restless and cold night’s sleep, daylight finally began to push through our curtains and warm us enough to dare leave our covers. Oh and a cup of tea helped! Ice was actually covering our windows and it took ages to get it off. Well, ages for Ollie! But eventually we could see enough to drive. A thick mist lurked all around us and made the frosty fields eerie. But as soon as we got out of shadow the mist had vanished and morning was finally happening. We noticed as we drove how places in the mountains’ shadows were full of mist and frost but everywhere not in them were perfectly normal. It was weird to see single clouds floating just meters from the ground and only in certain places. 

By the side of the road we noticed a little market selling fruit and veges so we stopped to take a look. Lucky for us we had picked the same time to stop as two coach loads of Japanese tourists and what we experienced next was a frenzy of picture taking, mass swarms and over eager appetites for the free ‘tasting table’. I know I’m being incredibly stereotypical but I have not exaggerated the situation in any way! The market was selling loads of dried fruits too so grabbing a big bag of banana chips (our favourite) we payed and got the hell out of there! If we’d stayed any longer Godzilla might have showed up! O.k. so now I’m being stereotypical...

We were passing a number of wineries (wow they have a lot in this country!) when suddenly I noticed a sign that read ‘Cheesery’. Wow! Naturally we immediately pulled over and went in to see if we could try any cheese. They had just opened and the lady was still setting up but she was very happy to give us a large selection of different cheeses to try while I tasted my way through a conversation about how much I loved the island. The cheeses were all on the gentler side of flavours (we tried goats, cows and sheep cheese, fiercely organic and home produced so I was o.k. with that!) and it was nice to try ones different to those I’d normally pick. I did ask to try her ‘stinkiest’ that might ‘take my mouth off’ and she did her best but...I’ve had better! In the end we bought a slice of their ‘Blue’ and one of their ‘Smoked Brie’. Later when we ate them I did enjoy both and even though they didn’t blow me away, it’s sometimes good to appreciate a different style!

A little town called Arrowtown appeared in the valley and we stopped to have a look around. An old mining village, it kind of looked like towns we’d seen out west in America. I never knew Gold mining had been such a big deal in New Zealand, but apparently it was! The main street was made up of small shops and cafes and Ollie and I knew immediately that as lovely as this place was it was a big trap for us. Just the kind of place we could spend all day drinking coffee and eating good food whilst letting the rest of our money sink into our bellies. Tearing ourselves away after a quick visit to the bakery, we both had a vegetarian (I know right? As if Ollie picked something vegetarian and not one of their ‘famous’ meat pies! I must be converting him!) Calzone (yum!), and then left Arrowtown as fast as we could.

Next we drove down into Queenstown (we’ll be coming back their later don’t worry) and out the other side following the path of Lake Wakatipu. Just incidentally, don’t places here have the most awesome names?! The Maori language is fantastic! My impersonation of the language is not. Anyway, along the stunningly wondrous, magnificently smooth lake (New Zealand needs a dictionary of adjectives all of its own I swear ‘cos I’m all out after only a few months!) you can grab a glimpse of locations that were used in the filming of ‘Lord Of The Rings’. Now, personally, I couldn’t tell you what parts and even though it says a few on our AtoZ I wouldn’t have a clue what, say ‘Gladden fields’ looked like in the film! 

Because I enjoyed the trilogy, well the first parts until it got to the bit where the big trees deliberated forever about whether to go and help and then when they did they walked so slowly they got nowhere fast which was strange because as they were so big surely they would have covered ground quicker. After that bit I kind of switched off and by the time the last film came out I had forgotten the beginning and I didn’t really care about the ring or Mordor anymore and all I was left with was a half hearted impression of Gollum that received no critical acclaim from anyone. I should read the books but I’m afraid fantasy doesn’t really get me going and although I sincerely appreciate how great Tolkein was (and I really do) and what he was trying to accomplish by creating the stories and Middle Earth (for further info on that please see my Essay entitled ‘British Nationhood: A Myth?’ - Self plugging at it’s best aye!) I can’t say I’ll ever manage to read those books. But never say never right?

At the end of the main road is Glenorchy. A tiny hamlet bordered by Lake Wakatipu on one side and mountains on the other. It is of course utterly picturesque and has a lovely hours walking trail just behind it. Peaceful and quiet, it is the place Queenstown locals come to escape the emmets! Whilst eating our cheese, I noticed a tiny place 40Km beyond Glenorchy that was only reachable by a dirt track. That place was named ‘Paradise’. Instantly I got it in my head that we had to get there and even though our van is anything but a 4WD I felt that shouldn’t stop us. So we went. And everything was fine, perhaps a little bumpy (O.k extremely), until we saw another camper van face down in a ditch. It was being towed and although we couldn’t help laugh, it did make us a little nervous. It was an icy patch of road that had thrown the van off and we had confidence in Ollie’s driving! We had to wait about ten minutes to be able to get past and while we were stopped a 4x4 zoomed past us and three lads gave us odd looks before they realised why we were stopped in the road. They looked a bit silly screeching to a halt after they had already seen us.

Past the fallen van we continued our pursuit of Paradise and made it through pot hole after pot hole, small streams and down muddy slopes that we hoped we could get back up. But then our dreams came to a crashing reality when, in front of us, appeared a river. And there was no way our Mystery Machine (A.K.A Manuel!) was gonna take that bad boy on! Conceding at the same time, Ollie and I looked at each other and agreed that our turn in Paradise was not to come just yet. And we had been so close! So as a fly can’t go back and tell his larvee mates at the bottom of the pond what it’s like ‘up top’, Ollie and I can’t tell you what Paradise is like. But lend us a 4x4 and we might be able to sort something out!

We turned around and gripped our seats as we took on the trail going in the opposite direction. The jeep with the lads in had zoomed past us again like idiots but we chose to ignore them. We chewed on our hearts as we took on the muddy bank and as I yelled ‘Come on you ********************’ (***** indicates a secret chant that only people who need it can know...) Ollie sped us and we juuuuust made it over the top. After which a couple of girls in what looked to be the equivalent of a ‘Twingo’ decided to give it a go. If we see them on the news we’ll let their families know what happened. We were just coming around the corner to where we’d seen the ‘towing’ when Ollie let out a massive laugh and a ‘Brilliant!’ Those three lads who had tried to be all cocky had only gone and fallen in EXACTLY the same ditch as the van had gone in! We couldn’t believe it!! We also couldn’t stop laughing! Instant Karma! As we took a slow mocking drive past I gave them a big grin and a thumbs up which was returned with three very foolish looking guys who smiled and waved sheepishly at us. Lucky for them a big tractor, that they had also roared past earlier, had been kind enough to stop and and decide to help them out. But even that guy was laughing at the dummies! Haha I’m still chuckling now!

Finally back on a road surface that didn’t feel like a trip to the Dentist’s we found Glenorchy again and headed back towards Queenstown. Just off the road was a small track that actually had a ‘Yes Campervan you can actually stop here and we won’t be grumpy about it’’ sign (no that’s not what the sign said, but I thought that’s what the diagram of the camper with no line through it with 7PM-9AM wanted to tell me) and led to a beach that looked out onto the lake, Pig Island (doesn’t really look like a pig, maybe if you squinched your eyes) and Pigeon Island (definitely doesn’t look like a Pigeon no matter what you might try to do to your eyes). The water had become the stillest we’d ever seen and as the sun began to lower I actually couldn’t believe we were going to be able to spend the night at such a glorious place.

Ollie found that flat, flat, flat, super flat lakes make the best skimming spots and tried to impress me with skims that went for up to thirty times! My best was two. The same as in the sea. Apparently it’s my technique and stone choice. So as I wasn’t up to the required standard I chose to sit on a rock and catch up on some blogging. Definitely one of the more inspiring places I’ve chosen to write. Perhaps I should come and live here and maybe it will help me to produce something worthy of being put into a book...

And lastly. I know, I know, I always say it, but seriously, those mountains!

26/7/12

A long walk, a couple of glaciers and a hot tub. Lovely job!

The morning was filled with cloud and mist as we drove a little further south to begin our hike. It was early morning and we could barely see the road in front of us let alone the mountains we guessed were lining our route. Setting off into the bush, the trail quickly became a steep upwards climb that would remain until we reached the top of the mountain. Our path was marked out but the ground was swampy and we had to pick our steps carefully to avoid sinking in. 

Out of the woods and onto more harsh terrain the slope increased and soon there was frost under foot and the trickles of water had turned to ice. The cloud was still too low to see anything but we guessed we must have been getting higher quite fast. A forest sprung up in front of us and by the time we had made our way through, the mist had lifted a little and we started to see where we were. Snow peaks were everywhere and already the ground below looked very far away. We were now in snow and the higher we climbed the more the temperature dropped so that our noses felt like they would fall off at any moment! Thick ice patches lay in the long grass around us and Ollie enjoyed trying to crack them and see how thick it was. I’ve never really seen ice thick enough to walk on but we found it here.

Finally after just over two hours of climbing we reached ‘Bealey Top Hut’ and could rest. Inside the metal cabin were beds, a fire place, dry kindling, a pack of cards and various other useful things for staying the night. There was also a book where we could add our information. Using a piece of charcoal I scratched our names on the wall next to others that had been and gone. Outside we found a large log and sat down to eat our lunch. I had wanted to rest a while but the temperature was so low that we quickly cooled from our walk and started to get cold. The best way to warm up again was to start the walk back! Going down hill was far more fun and on the decent I was able to take more interest in what was around us. The cloud had all but disappeared from the valley and now against a backdrop of piercing blue sky ranges of rugged snowy mountains. All we could say was ‘Wow’. We could also see at this point how high we had climbed and I was pretty impressed with what we had accomplished!

Eventually we were back in the first wood and back to the start. It had been the long walk I had wanted and the views couldn’t have been better. Arthur's Pass is spectacular and I’m so glad we went 200K’s out of our way to get to it! We had a long drive in front of is for the afternoon to get down to the Franz Josef Glacier. But driving during the day is the best way to see as much of the land as possible and before we knew it we were back at the coast and the sea. We stopped in Hokitika as I spied a fish and chip shop that sold Kumara chips, my favourite! The town was actually really nice and far more aesthetically pleasing than Westport or Greymouth. If anyone traveling ever wanted a place to stop on the west coast I would definitely recommend Hokitika instead of Greymouth! 

* * *

We woke to a thick layer of frost on our van and the sight of our own breath. Dressing quickly to keep warm we set off for a walk to the base of Franz Josef Glacier. One of two large glaciers on the South Island, Franz Josef Glacier is an enormous mass of ice carving its way between two mountains. As we walked along the open expanse of the stoney river bed at the bottom of the glacier, it didn’t look that big. But as a helicopter flew into the valley of rock and ice it all but disappeared. And as we got closer and the glacier still remained the same, we realised just how enormous it was. 

I suppose I was expecting some kind of arctic expanse of white that stretched for miles into the distance. So I was a little disappointed that the glacier was more of a frozen river in the mountains. Adjusting myself to the fact it wasn’t as I had imagined I was able to appreciate the marvel for what it was. We got as close as was allowed and read the signs that gave a bit of history and science on Franz Josef. It is possible to actually get on the ice (crampons and all) and to take a hike through tunnels, crevices and various other ‘icey’ extremes. However those trips were more expensive than we could have imagined and although it would have been fun, I do want to eat for the rest of the journey.

About 40Km further along the road is Fox Glacier. I believe it is the larger of the two glaciers and I have to say it was far more impressive to look at. I don’t know if it was because we were able to practically reach the base of it by foot, or because the day had become even clearer, but the ice was far more fascinating to look at. Perhaps I also knew what to expect this time so there were no dreams being dashed on this particular visit! We drove up a bit of track to get a higher view of the glacier which was worth it until Ollie misjudged a speed bump and we almost ended up through the window screen, pots and pans following behind.

After a morning of all things ice we got back to the van for an afternoon of driving. The next place on our journey was Wanaka (Say ‘One-eh-ker) and it was a good few hours away. Again we were in need of fuel and hoping for a little bit of ‘life’ so when we saw the town ‘Haast’ in bold type on our map we were full of encouragement. But we should have known better. Because ‘Haast’ was a ‘Haast been’ and just a collection of small shacks and one fuel station that of course charged ridiculous amounts. But I guess if I was the only fuel stop for 100’s of kilometers I would milk the fact too! So enjoying hours of endless beauty, mountains, rivers, wildlife, farm land and blue sky we made our way slowly towards Wanaka.

Suddenly out of nowhere a huge blue lake appeared on our right. The water, of course clear as anything (as all water ridiculously seems to be here!), mirroring the scene above it and calling me to jump into it. One a side note, every time I see a lake or river that’s more beautiful than the last I exclaim ‘I WANT TO GO SWIMMING!’ and Ollie has threatened to throw me in if he hears me say it again! Lake Wanaka is a massive expanse of water that can be followed on the highway down to the town itself. We stopped to walk along one of the beaches and Ollie played baseball with himself using driftwood and stones. A bizarre experience. I preferred to wonder in the nearby wood and then find a tree trunk to have a think on. The sun was beginning to start its sink behind the mountains so we set off again in search of a place to spend the night.

Lake Hawea joined us on our left for a while, a smaller lake but just as impressive and again lined with a sight that was far too magnificent. If there was ever a way to make you feel less than perfect or very humbled, the landscape of the South Island would be it. Just as we were starting to look for a lay by or parking spot, signs started appearing along the road declaring ‘No Freedom Camping Zone’ and we realised finding somewhere could be a real pain. The ‘zone’ continued all the way to Wanaka and in a way I’m glad it did because that place at sundown is wonderful. The end of the lake turns into pebbles and then shops, cafes and bars that line the pretty waterfront without imposing too much human presence on the area. A very cute ski town that was instantly likable.

With the thought of free hot tubs, sauna and internet in our minds, we couldn’t think of anywhere else we wanted to spend the night other than campground we had just seen advertised. O.k so it was a little more expensive than the $0 budget we had for that night but it was only the same price as other far less awesome parks we’ve stayed at. The showers even had underfloor heating and two doors so the cold didn’t get in! It was the first time since we left Auckland that I haven’t done the ‘undressing in a freezing shower cubicle dance’ which is usually followed by the ‘hop up and down until the water gets warm and then jump a bit more when it bursts out too hot’! We had a very relaxing evening before enjoying a warm nights sleep where I didn’t wake up every two hours freaking out that someone was trying to get into the van!

24/7/12